One Step at a Time
by HabsGirl31
Summary: When Cassie and her mom move to La Push to live with her mom's new fiancé, she never expected to become attracted to her ridiculously good-looking step-brother. But him being equally attracted to her was the last thing she expected. With the wedding weeks away, can Paul and Cassie keep their feelings – and hands – to themselves? Or will they ruin their parents' newfound happiness?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Okay, but as soon as you meet him, you have to sneak away, call me, and let me know if he's as hot in person," my best friend Erica Gordon instructs ecstatically.

I roll my eyes, taking a sip of my Starbucks hot chocolate.

About a year ago, my mother began dating a mechanic she had met through a friend at work. He's a really nice guy. Only problem though? He lived an hour and a half away from our Port Angeles home in La Push, Washington. So they did the long distance thing for a while; however, when they got engaged, they decided moving in with each other before the wedding in February was a smart idea. My mom was able to get a similar nursing position at the hospital in Forks, and a few days before Christmas, Peter and some of his friends moved all of my mom and I's stuff down to his home in La Push.

Due to my custody arrangement having me with my dad for Christmas this year, I hadn't gone with them, but I've been down to La Push a few times with my mom. It seems decent enough. Despite my multiple trips though, I have yet to meet my soon to be step-brother, Paul.

Erica, however, took the liberty to look him up on Facebook, and I can't disagree with her when she says he's quite attractive.

It's New Year's Day – which happens to be moving day for me – and Erica is my last "goodbye" stop before I have to hit the road from Port Angeles to my new home in La Push. I had a half-hearted goodbye with my dad earlier today before grabbing the last of my bags and meeting up with Erica. He had seemed more distraught over a client call he was waiting for than me leaving. But as he mentioned, I would be back in a couple weeks anyway for the weekend. Stupid custody agreement.

"Ricki, you do realize he's going to be my brother right? It doesn't matter if he's attractive or not!"

She sighs, as if I'm the one being unrealistic. "Andy, he's going to be your step-brother. _Step_."

Rolling my eyes again, I snort. Like there's a difference.

"Okay, fine. Find out if he's hot for _my_ sake."

"Your sake?"

"Yes! I'll be down for the wedding in like a month, and if he's as hot as he is in his profile pic then please, please, please set me up with him."

"What if he's a total tool?" I ask, amused.

"Can't be any worse than Jeremy." Jeremy is probably the biggest asshole at our high school – well my former high school. He was at the New Year's Eve party we went to last night, and tried to get both of us into his bed. At separate times, then the same time. Not that he got anywhere, but still. Taking a sip of her tea before glancing sadly at the clock. "Are you sure you need to leave by three?"

Sighing, I nod. "Yeah. Mom wants me there by supper time, and you know I drive slowly on the highway."

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbles, pouting at me.

Walking over, I give her a hug. "I'll be back the weekend after next!"

"To visit your dad!"

"Oh, please. We both know he'll be working the whole time anyway." She shoots me a sympathetic look, not bothering to deny it. My dad's not a terrible person; he's just not very good at being a dad. He owns a law firm in Port Angeles, but does a lot of business in Seattle and Tacoma. Even when he's home, he's usually still preoccupied with work. "Exactly, so we'll have plenty of time to hang out, and I'll have tons of gossip to tell you about how bad it is being the only blonde at a school on a native reservation."

She chuckles, walking with me to my car. "Yes, I wanna know about that and the hot brother!" 

"Step-brother!" I exclaim.

"See, there is a difference! You totally hope he's going to be cute!"

I smirk. "For your sake, maybe. But it really makes no difference. My mom is marrying his dad for Christ's sake!" We say our final goodbyes and I drive onto the highway. In all honestly, I'm hoping by some magical coincidence the guy she found on Facebook isn't him. The last thing I need is my best friend embarrassing me by throwing herself at my new step-brother.

…

Hesitantly, I pull my hand back and resist the urge to knock on the front door of the Lahote's house. It's my home now, and I know my mom and Peter will never let me hear the end of it if I do. Taking a deep breath, I open the front door slowly. "Hello?"

"Cassandra!" I hear a familiar voice exclaim before seeing my mom run into the hallway from the kitchen. I had gotten a tour of the home during my first visit to La Push. There were three bedrooms; the master being downstairs in the half-finished basement, and the other two being upstairs across from the only bathroom.

"Mom, hi." I embrace her in a hug, laughing when she refuses to let me go. "Mom, it's barely been a week. It's not like I took off for a year."

She scrunches her nose at me affectionately. "Oh shush, how was the drive down?"

"Good," I reply, kicking off my winter boots, hanging my coat on the hangers by the door, and following my mom into the kitchen. "There's no snow or ice yet."

She laughs, knowing how much I hate winter driving. "Well don't hold your breath. It's supposed to snow late next week."

I groan, causing my soon-to-be step-father to chuckle. "Don't worry, Cassie, nowhere in La Push is too far of a drive anyway."

I laugh, despite being unsure of whether or not he's trying to make a joke. From what I've learned about Peter, he makes a lot more dad jokes than my father ever has. He's also less stoic with emotions than Dad, which is evident as he pulls me into a side hug once I'm fully in the kitchen. "It's great to see you. I'm just gonna go put more wood in the fireplace before we eat."

He kisses my mom's cheek on his way to the living room, and I can't help but smile. I've never seen my mom so happy.

"Supper's basically ready, honey. You're hungry right? Paul will be up in a minute; he just ran downstairs to grab another can of cranberry sauce." Since I wasn't here over Christmas and Paul had a Christmas dinner with some of his coworkers apparently, my mom had cooked our turkey dinner today instead.

"Yeah, I'm starving. I haven't had a home-cooked meal in over a week." Mom grumbles about how unhealthy it is that my father's pantry is non-existent and we eat out anytime I visit him.

I notice an insanely tall, incredibly muscled guy enter from the other side of the kitchen. He's intently reading the can in his hand. "There's no jellied stuff in the pantry, Marie. Is the whole berry stuff oh…" as he looks up to my mom he notices that I've arrived. "Kay?" he finishes.

My mom steps aside so she's no longer between us. "Yeah that's fine as long as you guys like that kind," my mom answers before gesturing to me. "Paul, this is my daughter. Cassie, this is Peter's son, Paul."

I smile, waving awkwardly at my new step-brother. "Hey." A magical coincidence didn't happen. This is the guy Erica looked up on Facebook.

Only he is insanely hotter than I remember seeing in the picture.

Paul looks away from my mother, finally acknowledging me. He opens his mouth, presumably to greet me, but stops short as the can of cranberry sauce falls out of his hand. It only lasted a split second, but I swear to god he was staring at me in awe. As unrealistic as that would be for a guy like him to do that to me.

His mouth opens again, but his eyes have darkened, his jaw has set, and he looks slightly angry. This time he speaks, though. But it wasn't what I was expecting: "Fuck." Frantically he reaches down for the can, his hands trembling slightly.

I want to ask what's wrong, but before I get the chance, he looks back at my mother – anger vanished, handing her the sauce. "Sorry, I – um, just got a call from Sam. Emergency or something. I'm gonna have to miss the dinner."

"Oh," I can tell my mom's disappointed but she doesn't seem phased by his swearing or him suddenly having to leave. "Well, that's okay. We'll make sure to save you some."

"Thanks." He forces a smile. "Nice meeting you, Cassandra," he adds as he's walking past me. But he doesn't even look at me.

"Wait," I call after him, "I think I blocked your truck in."

I hear the front door shut, wondering if he heard me or not. Maybe I should go move my car for him? I shoot my mom a confused look.

She just shrugs. "He and some other kids are responsible for patrolling the reservation; he works weird hours. But don't worry about your car, Sam doesn't live too far from here. He'll probably just walk over."

I don't mention how concerning it is that "kids" are patrolling the reservation rather than police, or that he left without putting on a coat. If my mom doesn't find Paul's behaviour odd, I'm probably just being paranoid.

Peter walks back into the kitchen, looking confused and gesturing to the front door. "Did Paul just leave?"

"Yeah, said Sam said there was an emergency? I hope everything is okay."

Peter shrugs. "I'm sure everything is fine. There's always an emergency. Too bad, though. I was hoping you guys would get to know each other."

Mom laughs. "Oh they'll have plenty of time for that. Let's eat!"

Dinner is delicious and filled with catching up about how our holidays went and what living in La Push will be like. Once we're finished and dishes are cleaned, my mom insists I open my Christmas presents. I grab the presents I got for them and we open them in the living room by the fireplace. It's almost sad that it's the most family-filled Christmas I've had in a while – and it's January.

As soon as I can, I sneak away from them and check out my new room. She had my furniture set up similar to how it was in my old room, but my boxes of stuff are still unpacked, stacked in the corner of the room.

Collapsing on my bed, I pull out my phone and dial Erica's number.

She doesn't even say hello. "Oh my god, Andy! What the hell took you so long?"

I roll my eyes. "How was the drive? Do you like the house? Was supper nice?" I snort. "Those would be much better greetings."

"You've been home for three hours! Why didn't you answer my texts?"

"Alright, Miss Clingy. I'm sorry I was busy spending time with my family." I can practically hear her roll her eyes. "Anyway, you'll be happy to know that he is hot as hell."

"That's all I wanted to hear!" She giggles.

"But!" I exclaim. "It was the weirdest thing. He literally left as soon as I showed up. I mean, I guess he had to work. But it felt _weird_."

"What do you mean by weird?" she asks, curious.

I explain to her what happened as best I can, leaving out the part where I think he was staring at me in awe. Mostly because after the angry way he looked at me before talking to my mom, I'm convinced I just imagined that part. "Do you think he knew I was gawking at him and wanted to get the hell out of there?" I question nervously.

"Cass, come on. I know you. You're an extremely subtle person, and even if he's as god-like as you're saying, I think you were probably fine. Maybe he was stressed about whatever the emergency was and dropping the peas made it worse."

"Cranberry sauce," I correct.

Erica groans. "That's not the point!"

"I know," I whine. "I'm just worried. What if he hates me or we don't get along? I don't want to fuck this up for my mom. They're so happy, Ricki."

"You're over-analyzing this. Wait until you actually know this guy. Maybe you'll be mortal enemies or maybe you'll become the best of friends. But _regardless_ , someday he's going to be your step-brother and your best friend's future husband, so you'll have to figure out how to get along."

Bursting out laughing, I struggle to stop. I'm not sure if she's trying to make me laugh or being serious, but either way, it's moments like these where I'm glad she's my best friend. "Okay, okay. I'll give it a few days before I give you my next assessment of him."

Once I'm off the phone with Erica, I shut off my light and curl under my mass of blankets – I hate being cold. I'm sure earlier was just a misunderstanding. I'd talk to him tomorrow and everything would be all right.

At least, that's what I need to tell myself if I'm gonna be able to actually fall asleep tonight.

 **Let me know what you think**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love any feedback**

 **Chapter 2**

 ***Paul's POV***

"Yeah that's fine as long as you guys like that kind," Marie replies, stepping back to introduce me to her daughter.

Marie has been talking about Cassandra incessantly since she officially moved in. I thought I would hate having to live with two women, but so far Marie's been great. I've never seen my dad so happy, so even if her daughter is a total nightmare I figure I owe my dad enough to at least suffer through it for his sake.

"Paul, this is my daughter. Cassie, this is Peter's son, Paul."

I follow her gesture to see a small blonde waving awkwardly at me. "Hey," she greets with a smile.

My jaw drops and time stops as I meet the gaze of her light blue eyes. I hear the thud of the cranberry sauce fall to the ground, but nothing seems to matter besides this goddess standing across from me. She's beautiful. Absolutely stunning. Logically I know it was probably just a split second, but I feel like I've been staring at her in awe for ages. Then it finally hits me:

I just imprinted on my new fucking step-sister.

Instantly, I snap back to reality and anger seethes through me. Of all the god-damn people to be my soulmate, it has to be the daughter of the only women who's ever made my dad happy? This has got to be some sick joke. "Fuck," slips out of my mouth, as I fumble for the can. I'm already shaking; I have to get the hell out of here.

Marie doesn't seem slightly fazed at my cursing or when I mumble out a lame excuse of having to go to work – I guess she's used to my profanities and leaving unexpectedly by now. "Well, that's okay. We'll make sure to save you some."

I force a smile, trying to conceal my anger around her. She reminds me a lot of Emily: too nice for me to be able to be rude to without feeling guilty afterward. "Thanks." Not wanting to make it obvious that what just happened isn't normal, I mutter out, "Nice meeting you, Cassandra," as I'm heading for the door.

But I can't get myself to look at her again. I'm already on the lawn, heading for the shortcut to Sam's through the woods when I hear her call after me. Something about her car blocking in my truck. I look back and notice a semi-new looking black Honda Civic parked behind my beat-up truck.

How the fuck could this be happening? Imprinting is legitimately supposed to be the happiest day of your life. Not the day you risk ruining your dad's wedding.

Emily jumps in surprise as I barge through the front door. I'm not shaking anymore. I wouldn't have bothered coming near the house if I was – Sam would've killed me. But I'm still angry.

"What are you doing here, Paul? I thought you were having supper at your house tonight?" Emily asks in worry, as I plop down at the table. No surprise that most of the pack is here. Only Leah and Embry are missing and I'm pretty sure they're patrolling right now.

"Change of plans," I mutter, grabbing a muffin out of the basket on the table. By the stack of dishes in the sink, I can tell I just missed supper here – which definitely doesn't improve my mood.

"How come?" she persists, taking a seat on Sam's lap. Bitterness seeps through me; must be nice to actually have a shot with your imprint.

Glaring at the table, I snap, "Because I fucking imprinted on my step-sister."

Any side conversations that were going on around the table stop. I hear multiple "you've got to be kidding me"s and "what the fuck"s and a few snorts.

"You're joking man," Jared states, gaping at me.

"Nope." I swallow the rest of my muffin and grab two more. For once Emily doesn't scold me for eating them all.

"How's that going to work?" Collin blurts out.

Brady smacks him on the back of the head. "You can't ask him that man!"

I snort bitterly, before answering his question coldly, "It's not."

"What do you mean it's not?" Sam demands in concern. I can tell he's worried. "Are you sure you imprinted on her?"

I glare at him. I've seen enough imprinted couples to know what it's like. I'm not an idiot. "She's going to be my step-sister, Sam. It's not like we can date."

They don't disagree, which pisses me off. I only came here instead of going for a run because I thought they would tell me it would be okay. God knows I'll have to deal with Leah's negativity if I phase.

"I know your dad, Paul," Jared pipes up. "There's no way he's going to let you sacrifice your future with your imprint for him."

I growl. "I'm aware." My dad is one of the few left on the reservation whose grandfather was a wolf, so he knows the truth about the pack. It makes sneaking out for the late patrol shifts a lot easier, and although Marie seemed initially concerned, she bought the _teens helping the police patrol the reservation_ story pretty quickly. "That's why he's not going to find out I imprinted on her."

"Wasn't he there when it happened?" Emily asks curiously. 

I shake my head. "No, he was in the other room. I was gone before he came back."

"Paul," Sam sighs, "he's going to find out eventually. Even if nobody tells him – "

A threatening growl escapes my throat. "I'll tear whoever does to shreds."

Rolling his eyes – as if I'm joking – Sam continues, "He's going to notice it Paul. You live with her for god's sake."

I shrug, "I just won't talk to her except when I have to." I sound confident, like it'll be easy to do. But how the hell can I ignore my imprint when I'm going to be living with her and going to the same school as her?

All the imprinted wolves cackle. "You won't be able to do that, bud," Jared states, patting my back as he stares lovingly at Kim.

"Watch me," I snap, standing up and storming to the door.

"Paul, calm down," Sam orders. "You're being ridiculous. As weird as it is, she's your imprint. You can't ignore her. And Peter is going to notice."

"If I tell him, he will call off the wedding. And I will be the reason he's fucking miserable. I've put him through enough shit over the years; I'm not ruining this for him." That silences them. At least long enough for me to escape the cottage and rush into the woods. I make sure to take off my clothes before phasing – last thing I want to do is run into Cassandra on my way up to my room while I'm naked.

Phasing doesn't turn out to be any better of an idea than going to Sam and Emily's was. I can't control my thoughts of tonight's events and they're replaying through my head, torturing me.

I don't have an option here. I can't let my dad know about the imprint. But how the hell can I ignore her if she's going to be everywhere?

Leah's and Embry's opinions on the matter are too infuriating to stay in wolf form. Shortly after I phased, I phase back, put on my cut offs and sit down on one of the logs on First Beach where we usually have our bonfires.

Resting my head in my hands, I groan. I'm left to myself for barely ten minutes before….

"You're a moron," I hear Leah's condescending voice laugh, as she sits down beside me.

"If you didn't get it from when I phased out, I don't want your company Leah," I snap, glowering at her. "Besides, shouldn't you be on patrol?"

"Shift's over. And whether you want it or not, I'm going to give you some advice."

"Calling me a moron isn't advice."

"No shit." She rolls her eyes. "We've both seen enough imprints to know avoiding them won't end the bond. Emily tried, and look at them now," she points out bitterly. "Remember when Claire's parents tried to keep Quil from babysitting her? Look at how long that lasted."

"That's completely different."

"How?"

"Because then it was the imprint or someone besides the wolf who wanted to stay away."

Leah scoffs. "Oh please. You think you have to stay away from her; you don't want to."

"I do _have_ to stay away from her."

"No you fucking don't, you moron!" She shakes her head, as if she's talking to a clueless kid.

"Stop calling me that," I hiss, feeling my hands begin to tremble. She can't seriously think I'm okay with her seeking me out just to call me an idiot. "She's going to be my fucking step-sister. What part of that don't you get?"

She sighs dramatically. "Paul, I'm not saying that you should be trying to sweep her off her feet or get into her pants, but ignoring her isn't the solution."

"How else can I hide it from my dad then?"

"Just hide that you're in love with her. You don't have to act like you hate her to hide it. You can act like you just like her as a new part of the family. Like you want to be friends. Like you want to get along for your parents' sake or just because you think she's a cool person."

"It's not that simple."

She shoots me an incredulous look. "But it can be Paul. You're just overthinking it."

"Look Leah. I don't understand why you're trying to help me in the first place – although to be honest, you're really not succeeding. But I want to be alone in my misery, which you of all people should understand. So give me your advice, and fuck off."

"Wow, Paul. You're really making me regret this," she states starkly before sighing and continuing, "but since you obviously can't see it on your own. There's two ways that this is going to go. You're either going to be a complete asshole to her. Ignore her unless she speaks to you directly; try to act like she doesn't exist. But that's not going to break the imprint, you're not going to stop loving her. And because the imprint's still there, it's going to hurt her and she won't even understand what's going on because she's not going to know about the imprint."

I cringe at the idea of hurting her, even though she's basically a stranger. "What's your point Leah?"

"If that's how you choose to act, you're still probably going to end up with her. Maybe a few years down the road when you both don't live at home." That doesn't sound too bad. "But guess what, Lahote? She's never going to forget how you treated her. She probably won't just immediately forgive you. And she sure as hell isn't going to trust you. You're going to have to work your ass off to get her trust and for you guys to even be happy."

I try to keep a stony expression on my face; I can't have her knowing I see her point of how fucking terrible that's going to be.

" _Or_ ," she emphasises, "you can just be a decent human being. You don't have to act like her brother. But just be nice. Get to know her. If you're not hanging on her every word and ogling her, your dad won't ever find out. And it's easy to deny it; you're a great liar."

I groan, trying not to punch her in the face. Hasn't anyone ever told her that you shouldn't throw someone's flaws in their face when you're trying to help them?

"That'll just encourage the imprint bond."

She rolls her eyes. "Stop being so naïve!" she exclaims. "Dude, you're living with her. It's going to grow whether you're an ass to her or not. You're going to see all the quirky or 'cute'," she uses air quotes sarcastically, "things that she does on a daily basis whether you're talking to her or not. That's going to encourage the imprint. It will be encouraged regardless."

"I can avoid her enough not to see anything."

"As a person who has tried to avoid my sibling, you can't. Okay, only child, you will see her way more than you're anticipating."

I still can't believe she's acting like these are my only options. So I ignore my imprint and be a little bitter for a couple years. If she doesn't get to know me, she can't get that upset over me ignoring her. That's just crazy.

Leah stands up, looking annoyed that I haven't jumped on the choice that she evidently thinks is better. "But it's your choice. Years of hurting the person you _supposedly_ love and then working for years to regain her trust and love. Or keeping your lust and puppy-dog love under wraps and becoming friends with the girl until an actual relationship is more appropriate." I'm certain she's just trying to piss me off, when she adds, "Not that being just friends with a girl has ever been your forte, but I'm sure you can figure it out. For her and your dad's sakes."

I growl, but she just rolls her eyes before starting to leave. "You don't know everything, Leah. Especially about imprinting."

"Maybe not," she retorts, "but think about it logically. Really think about it and you'll know I'm right."

…

I did think about it. And maybe, for some unknown reason, Leah really does have a point for once. I stop by at Sam's before heading home. Mainly because I'm hoping there will be leftovers Emily will give me, but also I need to see if he approves of my plan.

Most of the pack has gone home when I enter the cottage; however, Jared and Kim are still sitting at the table when I return.

They all look surprised to see me. "I need you to promise me that you or anyone else won't tell my dad about it."

"Paul, look. I know you want your dad to be happy. But you can't ignore your imprint. It will destroy both of you." 

"I'm not going to," I inform him.

"No?"

I shake my head. "I'm just going to act like I would've if I hadn't imprinted on her – do my best to get along and get to know her – and then see where it goes from there after we graduate next year."

They look doubtful, which worries me. I thought I finally had a good plan. "Paul, I think just acting friendly and getting to know her is a great idea," Sam begins hesitantly. "But… do you really think you're going to be able to… uh, hold out for that long?"

"She's going to see me as her step-brother. She's not going to be attracted to me with that mentality. And since the imprint works to be what she wants, it should help me control that, shouldn't it? If she doesn't want me to be attracted to her, then I won't be overly attracted to her, right?"

Jared and Sam both nod in agreement. "According to the legends, yeah. That actually makes sense. What changed your mind?"

I snort. "Leah."

They seem equally blown away by that detail, especially when I explain Leah and I's conversation at First Beach. I don't stick around for too much longer – just enough to eat. I'm exhausted and after how I left the house earlier this evening, I'm sure I'll have to be super friendly tomorrow to get on Cassandra's good side.

When I walk upstairs toward my bedroom, I notice her door is open. Feeing like a creep, I peek inside. She's curled up under a mound of blankets, her hair is frayed all over her pillow, and she's snoring away. But she still looks so adorable.

Shaking my head at how fucked up imprinting is, I get into my own bed in the room beside hers. Leah's right; I would never be able to avoid her. Especially since we'll be sharing a bathroom.

My phone buzzes beside me just as I'm settled in bed. It's almost midnight and I figure I should check just in case it's Sam. It's not.

Olivia: Heyy, you wanna come over? ;)

I groan. Olivia is the most persistent chick I've ever screwed around with. I know if I tell her I'm no longer interested, she'll just think it's a game and try harder. So without hesitation, I delete the text and her number from my phone.

I'm almost proud of how much disgust even thinking of replying brings me.

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed!**

 **Chapter 3**

After getting dressed this morning, I have to admit I'm slightly nervous to go downstairs. Since it is a Thursday, both my mom and Peter are already at work. Meaning, unless he went out or something, it'll just be Paul and myself home.

But, I can't stay in my room forever. That's for sure.

Walking downstairs, I turn around the corner and slowly enter the kitchen.

"Oh god, you're one of those people," Paul states. He's standing by the toaster, a box of toaster strudels in his hand. By the smirk on his face, I can tell he's joking; however, I'm not sure what he means.

"Um, what kind of people?" I ask nervously.

He chuckles, obviously amused by my caution. "One of those people who get dressed even when they're not going anywhere."

I can't help but grin back. "Well," I laugh, "I wasn't really sure what the dress code was in this house." I gesture to Paul, who's standing shirtless in just a pair of pajama pants – trying my best not to stare at what appear to be rock-hard abs. _He's your step-brother, for god's sake, Cassie._ "I didn't realize it was so liberal."

Paul laughs, turning back towards the toaster. Before his face is out of sight, though, I'm pleased to see that he looks slightly embarrassed by my comment.

I slip by him towards the cupboard to grab some cereal. Paul must take my joke seriously though, because after he puts four – four? – toaster strudels in the toaster, he slips out of the kitchen and returns a few minutes later with a shirt on.

"So, you have any plans today?" I query, trying to break the silence that's unravelled since we've taken a seat at the table.

Paul shrugs, swallowing a huge bite of toaster strudel. "Not much. I work tonight. Dad asked me to take down the Christmas ornaments and throw out the tree, so… gonna do that."

"Oh, do you want help?" I offer brightly.

"No," he answers immediately, as if the idea of me helping is quite alarming. I blink in surprise, but before I can manage to say anything, he smiles sheepishly. "I mean, I'm sure you have a lot of unpacking to do."

"I've got almost a week to unpack before school starts, so I really don't mind." I pause, taking a few bites of my cereal. "Besides, I think my mom and your dad want us to get to know each other. After all, we will be walking down the aisle together."

Paul's eyes bulge out of his head, something I attribute to him nearly choking to death on his final toaster strudel. When he finally swallows and appears to be able to breathe again, he exclaims frantically, "What!?"

Blinking in confusion, I ask, "Well you're Peter's best man right?" When he nods, I clarify, "I'm my mom's maid of honour, so we'll be walking down the aisle together at their wedding."

He lets out a sigh. He sounds relieved? What did he think I meant? Again, I'm probably being paranoid. He likely didn't know I was the maid of honor and figured he'd have to walk down with one of my mom's older friends. "Sorry, I'm slow today - didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh yeah, is everything okay with the emergency?"

He smirks, nodding. "Yeah, I think everything's going to work out just fine." Standing up from the table, he places his dishes in the sink. "Well, I'll start putting the bigger decorations away. Feel free to join when you're done eating."

"I'll just be a couple minutes," I assure him, finishing up my cereal.

After I finish up eating, I quickly do Paul and I's dishes before joining him in the living room. He's taking down some ceiling decorations by the fireplace, but tosses me over an empty box to put the tree ornaments in. I'm pleased to notice that half the ornaments are from my mom and I's old house.

"So, Cassandra," Paul begins.

"Cassie," I interrupt, stretching to my tip toes trying to reach a bulb near the top of tree. "Please call me Cassie. My mom is the only person who calls me Cassandra, and she only does it when she's excited or really mad."

Paul chuckles, walking over from the fireplace to reach the ornament for me. Must be nice to be over six feet tall. "So _Cassie_ , excited to start school Monday?"

Grabbing the ornament from his outstretched hand, I shoot him a dubious look. "Did you really just ask me if I'm _excited_ to go back to school?"

Smirking, he shrugs and returns to the ceiling decorations. "You never know. It's your first day at a new school, after all."

"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't say excited, though. Maybe nervous, since I won't really know anyone, but I'm glad it's my junior year and not senior year," I admit. Starting your last semester of high school with no friends would not be ideal.

He gasps I mock offense. "You know me!"

I roll my eyes, but can't stifle my giggle.

"I wouldn't worry too much. It's a small school, and since we're in the same grade, we'll probably have a few classes together. Either way I can show you around."

I nod, slightly relieved. Although I'm sure I can't hide behind Paul all day, at least I can rely on him to show me where I'm supposed to go. "Thanks."

He shrugs. "It's no problem."

"So, am I going to be the only blonde in the school?" I joke.

Chuckling, he answers, "Well, you'll definitely be the only _natural_ blonde."

It doesn't take us that long to get all of the decorations packed into boxes and taken down to the basement. I offer to help Paul take out the tree; he assures me he doesn't need help. Although his muscles probably shouldn't be underestimated, I'm still surprised when he's able to discard it by himself. It's a big tree!

Regardless, it was a fun morning, and I'm feeling a lot more confident that my soon-to-be step-brother doesn't hate me than I was last night. At least enough to actually add him on Facebook once he leaves for work.

Nonetheless, I'm going to stick to my promise, and not give Erica my new assessment of him for another few days.

…

The next few days go by rather quickly. Paul accepted my friend request when he got home Thursday night. We had breakfast together again Friday, getting to know each other while he eats a disgusting amount of toaster strudels. Since I didn't really have anywhere to go – and it is cold outside – I stay in and finish unpacking.

Before I know it, it's Sunday evening. I've already packed what I'll need for school tomorrow, so I know it's going to be a slack night.

Right now, I'm searching the fridge for something to eat for supper. My mom and Peter went to Port Angeles for a date night, so I have to fend for myself.

"Hey," Paul greets, entering the kitchen as he finishes putting on a sweater. From what I've noticed, he never wears sweaters inside, so he must be going out.

I nod in return, inspecting some lettuce to see if it's still any good. It's not. I close the fridge and check the freezer. "Did you have supper yet?"

He shakes his head. "Actually, I'm about to go to Sam and Emily's for supper. Wanna come? There will be plenty of food."

Although from what I've heard of Paul's friends, I must admit I'm somewhat curious to meet them. However, I'm not feeling overly social, and I haven't showered today. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass." I notice a frozen pizza in the freezer. "I think I'll just stay in. Grab a shower, maybe cook a pizza, and watch some Netflix."

He seems slightly disappointed. "Are you sure? Most of the people that will be there go to school with us. You'll get to meet some people before you start."

I know he has a good point, but I really do just want to stay home. Plus, I'm planning on giving Erica my update on Paul tonight while he's not home. I haven't said anything about him to her since my first night here, and I know she's dying in anticipation. "Next time, I promise."

He laughs. "Alrighty, your loss. Emily makes delicious food."

"So does Delissio!" I quip, ignoring my growling stomach – which Paul laughs at. "Anyway, I'm going to grab a shower."

"Okay, I'll probably be gone by the time you're done, so I'll see you tomorrow!"

I nod, hoping he'll remember that he said we could drive to school together tomorrow. "Sounds good. Have fun!"

After my shower, I throw on some pajamas and my house coat. I have a TV in my room, but the living room one is much bigger. Plus, I have the house to myself, so I may as well take advantage of it. Running down the stairs to the kitchen, I'm so hungry I can literally smell pizza.

Or so I thought.

When I enter the kitchen, I notice the Delissio pizza sitting on the counter, fully cooked. I notice a note in messy handwriting scribbled beside it.

 _You better save me a slice :)_

Embarrassingly, a squealy "aww" escapes my lips. Maybe this is what siblings do for each other, but nonetheless it was just _so_ sweet of him. Especially since he would have had to wait for it to cook before he could leave for his friend's house.

Quickly, I pull out my phone and find the number my mom had given me the other day.

Cassie: Hey, it's Cassie. My mom gave me your number. Thanks so much for the pizza!

He even cut it into slices! Without grabbing a plate, I start eating a slice. My phone buzzes when I'm halfway finished eating.

Paul: Np! You seemed hungry :)

To my disgust, my heart flutters at his concern. What the hell is wrong with me? Once I finish eating, leaving about half the pizza for Paul, I flop onto the couch and pull out my cell.

Netflix can wait. I need to talk to Erica. Now.

The phone rings twice, but as soon as I hear the click of her picking up, I exclaim, "I have a major problem!"

After a moment of silence, she asks in worry, "What's wrong?"

"I'm in love with my step-brother!" I practically scream.

"What?" She must be drinking something because I can hear her spit it out on the other end. "Legit four days ago you thought he hated you!"

"Okay, I'm being dramatic. I'm _obviously_ not actually in love with him. But oh my god, Ricki, he is _so_ attractive and cute and funny and sweet." I pause gushing over him in order to catch my breath before telling her all about Thursday, then the cute or funny things he did over the weekend, and end with the pizza thing.

"Is this guy even real?" she exasperates.

I groan. "Yes, and he's my step-brother. What am I going to do? I have a crush on my _brother_."

"Step-brother," she corrects, although slightly defeated. "But yeah. I don't even know what to say, Andy. I can't believe you actually like him. Like I was joking about it, but I never really thought it would actually happen."

"You're not helping!" I cry.

"Okay, okay. Just leave your mom a note saying that you've stolen her fiancé's son and that you two are running off to Vegas to get married."

"If I could hit you right now, I would. That's not funny! And it's not like he actually would like me back; he would probably be so appalled that his soon-to-be step-sister is crushing on him."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. He seems to be being awful nice to you."

"Ricki! This isn't like a crush on some boy we work or go to school with. You're not supposed to encourage it and pretend there's a chance. He's the son of my mom's future husband! You're supposed to be telling me I'm crazy and need to get my hormones under control."

She sighs, before apologizing. "I know. I know. But he just seems so perfect; it's unfortunate that your mom had to get to his dad first."

I roll my eyes at her dramatics. This is just a silly crush. It's going to pass once I get to know him better. It _has_ to. After I few minutes, she jokes, "So I guess I should be telling Liam when he asks about you at work that you're moved on?"

I groan. "Oh god, he's asking about me?" She hums in agreement. "I still can't even believe I did that." Erica and I both worked at the movie theatre in Port Angeles – well, she still works there – and one of our co-workers, Liam, had always had a crush on me. He's nice and kind of cute, but not really my type. Apparently though, after a few drinks, let's just say he was a bit more of my type.

"At least he wasn't terrible," she points out, causing me to blush. Oh god, I tell this girl way too much.

"Ugh, alright, whatever. I'm gonna go before you start throwing all my sins in my face. Plus, there's a new season of Once on Netflix and I have some catching up to do."

Laughing, she says her good-byes and lets me go. I don't really feel any better after that conversation, but at least I've finally gotten my confession off my chest.

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Cassie are you almost ready?" Paul calls from downstairs.

Taking a deep breath, I take one more look at my reflection in my vanity mirror. My hair was abnormally curly when I woke up this morning – punishment for not drying my hair before bed last night. From Paul's tone, I could tell I wouldn't have enough time to straighten it, so I just threw it up into a somewhat messy bun. But I think I look okay.

"Coming!" I yell, rushing out of my room and towards the staircase.

When I get to the entrance way, Paul is standing by the front door, already in boots and a sweater. In my rush to not keep him waiting, I lose my balance as my socked feet slip on the wooden steps. Before I fall flat on my face, Paul catches my arm, steadying me. His hand burns against my bare arm, but despite the heat of his body temperature, it kind of feels nice. _Oh for god's sake Cassie._

He quickly retracts his hand.

"Sorry," I mumble, grabbing my jacket off the hook and slipping on my black boots. After lacing them up, I flip down the tops to reveal the plaid interior.

Paul shrugs. "It's fine. Ready to go?"

Nodding, we head for the door. I'm surprised to see my car is parked in front of Paul's truck – opposite of where I parked it Wednesday.

Catching my confusion, Paul says, "Your mom moved it the other day when I had to go pick something up. You were asleep, and honestly, I wasn't sure if you were ever going to leave the house." He's smirking as he climbs into his truck.

I glare at him, following suit and climbing into the passenger side. He was right though. I hadn't left the house since I'd arrived last Wednesday. "If there was anything to do in La Push, maybe I would've had a reason to leave," I tease.

Rolling his eyes, he backs out of the driveway. "Sorry, big city girl, is our little res not good enough for you?" The devilish grin on his face tells me he's also teasing.

I scoff. "Port Angeles is a _tiny_ city."

When we get to school, Paul walks me to the office. Although I was sure I could find it myself, he insisted on doing so. We compare our schedules; we have the same afternoon classes together, but he's not in my first three classes in the morning. It turns out our lockers are on opposite sides of the school, so I insist once he's shown me where my locker is that I'm okay to find my classes by myself.

"Are you sure?" He looks uncertain.

"Paul," I laugh, "I don't know what my mom told you. But I'm not completely hopeless."

He scratches the back of his head. "She just said you're bad with directions. I don't want you to get lost."

My mom's not exactly wrong in saying I'm bad with directions. "I'll be okay," I assure him.

Reluctantly, he nods. As he's walking away, he holds his hands up in defeat. "If you end up in a ninth grade Algebra class, don't say I didn't try to help you."

Rolling my eyes, I turn around and open my locker. As touched as I am that he's worried about me, I'm slightly offended that he and my mother have such little faith in me.

"So, you're the new girl?" an annoyingly high-pitched voice questions from beside me.

Looking up, I notice a pretty Quileute girl wearing a low-cut shirt at the locker beside mine. I nod, trying not to show any irritation. Obviously I'm new; the school's way too small for her to possibly not know that. "Yup."

She purses her lips, not looking impressed for a split second. Then an overly fake smile appears on her face. "A tip, girl-to-girl, you should probably stay away from Paul Lahote. I'm _positive_ he's not your type."

I blink in surprise. The jealously in her tone is so undeniable that I don't even know what to say.

When I don't respond, she continues, "I just saw you walking with him earlier, and I wanted to warn you before you get too attached."

I hide my face behind my locker door, so she can't see my expression. "Um, thanks, but I am also positive he's not my type" – that bluff was hard to get out – "because he's going to be my step-brother."

To my pleasure, the girl looks slightly embarrassed. " _Oh_ , you're that new girl," she exclaims in relief, although I'm completely certain that I am the only new person at the school this semester. "In that case, has he mentioned me at all?"

"And you are...?" I ask, slightly confused. Should he have mentioned her? Was she his girlfriend? If she was, I would assume she would at least know who I was – or she would've dropped by the house.

"Olivia," she clarifies, unreasonably annoyed that I don't know that.

Slowly, I shake my head. "Should he have?"

She huffs, before saying haughtily, "Well, I would have hoped so. When you see him, mind telling him that I would like to talk to him?"

"Or you could just tell him yourself," I suggest, shutting my locker after taking out some notebooks.

"He hasn't answered my texts since New Year's – which I don't appreciate. Make sure you tell him that."

 _Maybe he's trying to leave a hint_ , I think in disbelief. I wasn't really sure of the situation, but typically when a guy ignores me for a week, it's obvious they aren't interest. Instead, I figure I shouldn't gain any enemies on my first day of school. "Will do."

I hear her call something out as I'm walking away, but I didn't catch what she said. I'm too focused on trying to figure out where my Trigonometry class will be. As expected, it's not too hard to find. I take an empty seat at the front, ignoring the stares I get from most of my classmates. There's probably not even ten other people in the class. It really is a tiny school.

Unfortunately, the teacher asks me to introduce myself. I'm not exactly shy, but having everyone stare at me when I have basically nothing interesting to say is a little awkward. That class and the next go by in a similar fashion – I introduce myself (which is a little pointless because at least half of the students of my first class were also in the second) and then the class continues without me talking to anybody.

When I find my American History class, I notice the desks are in pairs and there's only two seats available. One is beside Olivia, and the other is beside a shy looking girl with her nose in a novel. Without hesitation, I take a seat beside her. "Hey," I greet.

She looks up from her book, surprised that I sat with her I guess. "Hi," she replies awkwardly.

When she doesn't say anything else, I just nod and turn toward the front of the class. Her awkwardness can't be any worse than Olivia's Paul-obsessed chatter. This teacher doesn't make me introduce myself, which is nice. She does make us do a pairs quiz to find out what we know about history.

I write my name on the paper, looking pointedly at my partner who still hasn't really spoken to me.

"K-Kim," she stammers out nervously.

Writing down her name, we begin the quiz. She talks a bit more while we answer the questions, but she doesn't really do much small talk. The bell rings, and we hand in the paper. "So, you're Paul's im – uh, sister right?" Kim asks nervously.

Really? Just as I'm about to leave for lunch she starts talking to me…. "Uh, step-sister, yeah."

She's quiet for a minute. "Do you know where the cafeteria is?"

I shake my head.

Before I can say that I'm sure I can find it, she blurts out, "I can show you if you want."

"Um, that's okay. I brought my lunch, so I'll probably just go to the library." Although she seems okay, I'm sure sitting with her would be even more awkward. And Paul would be the only other person I know enough to sit with there. But he never exactly said that it was okay for me to sit with his friends. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but I really don't want to intrude.

Blinking in surprise, she nods. "Oh, okay."

"Thanks, though," I reply, hoping that I don't sound like I'm blowing her off. She seems nice, I guess.

Once lunch is over, I head towards the room that my English class is in. Paul is sitting at the back of the classroom with a boy who's equally as muscled as him – although not nearly as attractive.

"Hey," I greet, smiling at them both as I take the seat in front of them.

Paul grins at me. "How was the library, nerd?"

I glare at him, trying not to laugh. "How did you know I was in the library?"

His friend answers my question, "My girlfriend, Kim, was the one you told. She mentioned it."

I try to hide the surprise in my reaction to Kim being his girlfriend. Although I don't find him overly attractive, he definitely is a good looking guy. And not that Kim isn't pretty, but she's a little plain in comparison to who I would expect to be his girlfriend. "Oh."

"You could've sat with us, you know," Paul informs me.

Shrugging, I open my book and pull out a pen in preparation for class. "I didn't want to intrude. I'm sure you don't want your step-sister following you around all day."

His friend bursts out laughing, although I'm not quite sure what's so funny.

"I wouldn't have minded." I feel a blush creep up my neck. Oh god, I'm so pathetic. Paul coughs awkwardly, elbowing his friend's ribs in an attempt to tell him to stop laughing I'm sure. "This is Jared, by the way. Jare, this is Cassie."

"Nice to meet you," I say, smiling.

"You too," he replies. "I've heard a lot about you."

Paul immediately glares at him, but I must admit I'm curious to know what Paul says to his friends about me. That I take too long in the shower? That I frequently gawk at him when I hope he's not looking? That I watch embarrassing old movies on Netflix?

Before I can comment on that, Paul asks, "So how was your morning?"

I shrug. "Okay. Oh!" I smirk at him. "A girl named Olivia wanted me to tell you that she doesn't appreciate you ignoring her texts."

Paul visibly pales – which is hard to do when you're Quileute. Jared, on the other hand, looks like he's about to burst into another fit of laughter. That is until Paul's hands start to tremble like how they did last week when I first met him; then, Jared shoots Paul a warning glance before murmuring something that is too low for me to hear.

"Paul, calm down!" I laugh, slightly concerned about his sudden mood swing.

After a second, he appears to have done just that. He runs his hand through his hair. "Sorry, just surprised me. I don't know why she would've told you that."

"Well, first she told me that I should stay away from you, but when she realized who I was, she decided to use me as a messenger."

Paul looks extremely annoyed, which just amuses me. I can't figure out why he's so opposed to her speaking to me. "She's a psychopath."

It clicks, though. I know the look on his face, because it's the same look I had on my face whenever Liam texted me or someone brought him up. "Let me guess, fuck buddy that won't take a hint?"

Paul's face pales once again, but this time he looks terrified – not annoyed. Jared falls back into one of his laughing fits. When Paul remains stunned, I wave my hand in front of his face. "Hello? Are you okay? I was just kidding."

He smiles sheepishly. "Well, you're not wrong."

I keep a smile on my face, but for some crazily inappropriate reason I feel slightly disappointed and immensely jealous. "I'm sure she'll eventually get the hint. Hang in there."

Paul seems surprised at my comment and so does Jared. However, before they can say anything, the bell rings and class starts.

Class goes on like most of the other ones today, and when the bell rings, I follow Paul and Jared to our next class. "So, what is Quileute Studies anyway?" I ask. "Is it, like, your tribe's legends or something?"

They both snort. "If only it could be that easy," Paul remarks. They laugh together, evidently he just made an inside joke that I don't get. "No, it's like Spanish but for our tribe's language. The Elders were worried about it going extinct with no one passing it on, so they teach it at school now."

I groan, as if learning Spanish wasn't hard enough. "I think I'd rather learn the legends."

"Oh don't worry," Jared assures me, "I'm sure you will."

Paul shoves him, causing Jared to stumble into the hallway lockers.

I giggle, rolling my eyes at them. Regardless of whatever the feelings I have toward Paul are, at least him and his friends with definitely make this semester amusing.

 **Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who favourited and followed this story! I hope you're liking it, but regardless I'd love to hear all of your feedback :3**

 **And thank you to those who reviewed :D please enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

My first week at school goes by quite quickly. Not very excitingly – but what else could I have really expected? Like my mother had predicted last week, it began snowing by mid-week. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough to have school cancelled, just a few inches or so. None of my classes have any homework since it's the first week back, and I begin to sit with Paul and his friends during lunch. They all seem nice.

Kim still doesn't really talk much, and when she does it's insufferably awkward. Jared continues to make jokes at Paul's expense that I don't fully understand; however, all their other friends laugh too and Paul continues to get annoyed.

It's really quite funny.

Although, he gets much more annoyed when I tease him about Olivia – who hasn't stopped badgering me about him whenever she sees me.

When Paul and I get home from school on Friday afternoon, I'm surprised to see Peter and my mom at the kitchen table with a suitcase near the door.

"Hey," I greet curiously, "shouldn't you guys be at work?"

"We decided to ditch today," Peter informs me with a wink.

My mom laughs, rolling her eyes. "We're going to Port Angeles for the night, so we got off a little early." She pulls my cell phone that I forgot at home this morning off the table and tosses it to me. "Ricki has called you about three times today."

"Who's Ricki?" Peter asks, grinning teasingly. "Your boyfriend?" He elbows his son in the side, clearly waiting for Paul to jump in on his teasing. He just stands there uncomfortably, an awkward smile plastered on his face.

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. " _Ricki_ is a nickname for Erica, who happens to be my best friend."

"Okay, okay," my mom pipes up, standing up from the table. "Stop torturing your step-daughter; we have to get going."

As soon as our parents leave, Paul shoots me an apologetic grin. "He thinks he's funny."

Laughing, I shrug. "He's funnier than my dad, at least. "So, guess we'll have to fend for ourselves for supper tonight."

"Nah," Paul rebuts. "We're going to Emily and Sam's for supper."

I open my mouth, about to object. Although his school friends seem nice, I haven't met Sam or Emily before and I definitely don't want to just walk into their home.

But before I can object, Paul raises his hand, smirking triumphantly. "Don't even. You promised."

" _Next time, I promise."_

God dammit; he's right. "Fine," I groan.

"We can head over around five, if that works."

Nodding, I head for the living room. Since I have no homework, may as well watch Netflix for an hour. Not wanting to get too into a movie that I would have to stop, I start the next episode of Once Upon a Time. Paul joins me.

About ten minutes into the episode and twenty questions from Paul later, I pause the show. Shooting me a questioning glance, he asks, "Why'd you pause it?"

I sigh dramatically. "This show is way too damn complicated four and half seasons in for me to explain it to you. We're going to have to start it over." Quickly, I exit out the episode and start the pilot episode.

"You don't have to do that. I probably won't even like the dumb show," Paul grumbles. However, when the first episode ends, he insists we start the next one.

I pretend to check the invisible watch on my arm. "Pretty sure it's time to go to your friends' house."

"Fine," Paul replies, mocking my groan from earlier. "Let's go."

After getting winter-ready, Paul begins walking down the driveway. I gape at him in disbelief. "We're _walking_ there?"

Paul barks out a laugh. "Cassie, it's less than a ten minute walk. Five if we go through the path in the woods."

I frown. "But there's snow."

He rolls his eyes but continues to walk down the road. "Did it not snow in Port Angeles?"

"Ha, and you say your dad isn't in funny."

Paul is right, though. It's not very long of a walk and it's not even that cold out. Right now. When we get to the driveway – I'm assuming because we turn down it – Paul grabs my elbow gently, pulling me to a stop. My heart hammers in my chest. _I am so pathetic._

"When you meet Emily, please try not to stare. It bugs Sam," he whispers.

I nod. Partially speechless because I'm confused as to why I would stare; partially because he's touching me. And as I said above, I'm pathetic. "Of course."

Paul enters the small house without knocking. Following in awkwardly, I notice there's a lot more people than I expected. I recognize Jared and Kim, as well as Embry, Jacob, and Quil who I sit with at lunch. However, there's a few younger – ish? – boys there, as well as a couple other girls who I don't recognize.

"Paul, you're finally here!" a beautiful young woman with scars marring one side of her face rushes over to us. "You must be Cassie!"

 _Don't stare; don't stare; don't stare._ "You must be Emily," I reply, smiling brightly at her. "Nice to meet you."

We take a seat at the large table and Paul introduces me to Sam; the younger boys named Seth, Collin, and Brady; and Leah who was sitting on the other side of me. I smile at her, but she glowers back at me. I swear I hear a growl come from the other side of me, but when I glance over at Paul, he's smiling at me.

When dinner is served, everyone begins to eat. I'm slightly disgusted to learn that everyone else here besides Kim and Emily eat as much as Paul does.

"So, how are you liking La Push so far?" Emily asks me curiously.

Smiling awkwardly, "Uh, yeah. It's great."

They all snort. "That's convincing, Cass," Paul teases, his trademark smirk on his face.

"No, it is. I just, haven't really gone anywhere besides school."

Emily nods, rolling her eyes at the cackling boys. "It's definitely a much more fun place in the summer."

"Good to know." The dinner continues on, and Paul was right. Emily's cooking is delicious. She even made apple pies for dessert. Yes plural….

"In the summer we usually have bonfires instead of dinners," Kim pipes up – the first time she's said a full sentence all night.

"They're a lot more fun," Emily admits, as the boys holler in agreement. "But we are having another dinner next Friday. You should come!"

I feel bad declining her offer; she's just so nice. "I would love to, but unfortunately I can't." I frown as I tell her why. "I have to go to Port Angeles to see my dad. Custody thing."

"Wow, you seem as excited to go there as I do to be here," Leah says dryly.

I laugh, but everyone else around the table groans or rolls their eyes – besides Emily who just looks sad. Guess she isn't a crowd favourite; however, when she notices me laugh, I'm pretty sure she smiles at me.

Once dessert is finished, we hang out in Emily's living room for a bit. Around nine o'clock, Paul asks me if I want to head out. Although I have to admit I did have fun, the inside jokes I'm not catching onto are a little tiring. So we head out.

On the walk home, Paul is a few feet ahead of me. I kneel down, and Paul turns around curiously. I don't know how he knew I stopped walking. "You okay?"

"Just tying my shoe," I reply, playing with the laces on my boot.

Nodding, Paul looks up towards the sky, seeming to be inspecting the stars. While he's not looking, I bundle some wet snow near my feet into a ball. "Hey, Paul?"

"Ye – " he begins, but is interrupted by a melting snowball colliding with his face.

The surprise on his face makes me giggle, but when a devilish grin appears on Paul's face, I know I'm in trouble.

Squealing, I make a run for it towards our house, hoping to slip past him.

Paul snakes one arm around my waist, immobilizing me so I'm unable to escape. He smashes an ice-cold snowball into my face. I'm about to scream at the icy temperature, but suddenly I'm well aware of how close we are. His arm is still around my waist, holding me against him; his hand is still against my face, the snowball melting away.

Time seems to stop as his warmth radiates through my body. Slowly I turn around, his hand remains at my cheek. We're so close there's just inches between our faces. Slowly, I bring my eyes up to his brown ones. As soon as our eyes meet, I realize how wrong what I'm feeling is.

My mom is marrying his father. Regardless of whatever I may be feeling, I can't just act on them. That's ridiculously inappropriate, and I know my mom would be horrified. At the same moment as mine do, Paul's eyes widen in horror and his hand snaps away from my cheek. His arm frees from around my waist as I instantaneously jump as far away from him as possible and begin walking clumsily towards the house.

He coughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he walks beside me.

I look over at him, but he's looking anywhere but at me. The whole scene happened in a matter of seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Is it possible he felt that spark too?

"I hope there wasn't any ice in that snowball," he says, his voice thick with concern and discomfort.

I feel slightly disappointed. It was really more likely that he touched my face, concerned that he cut me or something. Which is a good thing, since nothing can happen between us anyway. It's just always a little embarrassing to conclude your feelings aren't returned in the same way. "Oh no. I'm, uh, okay. Just cold now is all."

His eyebrows furrow in concern, looking conflicted. But he just nods, continuing to avoid eye contact. "We'll be home soon."

When we get home, I ask him if he wants to continue watching Once - hoping it will ease the embarrassment between us.

Quickly he shakes his head, mumbles out an excuse that he's tired - even though it's only shortly past nine on a Friday night - and heads upstairs.

"Okay, goodnight," I say quietly. I don't know why I'm so disappointed. Sighing, I pull out my phone and send a text to Ricki.

Cassie: SOS - I think Paul and I had a moment.

My phone is ringing a couple seconds later. Figuring if I talk quietly, he won't be able to hear me in the living room from upstairs, I plop down on the couch, answer the phone, and explain the whole situation to Ricki.

 **So things are finally heating up between them now, and don't worry, it won't stop here ;)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to everyone who read the chapter and to those who reviewed!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 6**

 _Paul's POV_

It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to slam my door shut when I get into my bedroom. This was not how this was supposed to go. Cassie was not supposed to get flustered around me. Her heart wasn't supposed to be hammering out of her chest every time we were close to each other. We were not supposed to ever be so close that I could literally feel sparks fly.

She was supposed to see me as her soon-to-be step-brother. Not be fucking attracted to me. As angry as I am, though, I'm not angry at her.

I'm angry at myself. Angry for potentially slashing her face open with ice. Angry for letting myself hold her when she can't be mine – not yet anyway. Angry for not being able to warm her up on the walk home. But mostly, angry for being the one responsible for the disappointed look on her face when I told her I was going to bed.

Sitting on my bed, I rest my head on my hands – resisting the urge to scream. Or phase. I needed to get my hormones under control; then, I needed to go downstairs, apologize, and ask if the offer to watch Once Upon a Time was still standing.

Before I get that control, however, I overhear Cassie talking in a hushed but frantic tone from downstairs. Instantly, my attention perks as I strain to hear what she's saying. I know I shouldn't, but the house is quiet enough that with my enhanced hearing, I can easily hear her voice. Whoever she's talking to, on the other hand, is too muffled to make out. Since I'm pretty sure she hasn't made any friends at school this week, I'm assuming it's her friend "Ricki".

Because it's not like I didn't want to punch a thousand walls when I thought the answer to my dad's joke was yes.

It only takes me a second to realize she's relaying what happened tonight on our walk home. She's definitely almost towards the end of the story. To my relief, she doesn't seem disgusted at the interaction. But, like I said, she sounds pretty frantic.

"What am I supposed to do?" She's a terrible whisperer when she panics. Even without my wolf hearing, I'd probably be able to overhear some of it. "I'm crushing on my fucking step-brother!"

I freeze. That sentence would be music to my ears if it wasn't for the fact that this isn't a typical imprint relationship. We cannot go down that road with the wedding weeks away.

Either she put her friend on speaker phone or her friend was yelling, because I overhear a perky voice exclaim, "Your parents are outta town. Go upstairs and tell him you wanna bang him!"

This time it's my heart that's pounding out of my chest; not that my heart is the only thing that's throbbing. Part of me is hoping she'll take her friend's advice, but I also know how much that cannot happen.

And how much I want it to happen.

"Ricki!" Cassie's tone is scolding, but also flustered. "You need to stop talking like that. He's my _step-brother_." Her words almost bring me back to reality, until she adds quietly, "We'd both know I'd just be embarrassing myself if I did anyway."

The embarrassment in her voice breaks my heart. Does she really think I'd tell her no? I groan. Of course she does. I'm going to be her step-brother. I shouldn't be fantasizing about her. Imprint or not, right now we need to be siblings. Which means I definitely shouldn't be eavesdropping on a private conversation.

Before I can hear anything else about me, I grab my earphones and put my iPod on full blast. Eventually I must drift off to sleep, because suddenly my room is pitch black and the alarm clock on my bedside table says it's nearly 3 a.m... Turning off the iPod, I throw it onto my bedside table, groaning. I have patrol in a few hours. The last thing I want is be up all night.

As I turn over, pulling the covers over my head, I hear strange noises coming from Cassie's room. At first I think the noises are just because she's breathing heavily, but it doesn't take me long to recognize that they're moans.

My hormones catch on fire of images of what she could possibly be doing over there run through my mind. Eventually, I realize she's tossing and turning, so she's probably just having a dream. That doesn't cool me down any. Because, as wrong as it is, part of me hopes she's dreaming about me.

Fuck. So much for falling back asleep before patrol.

 _Cassie's POV_

"Oh my god," I gasp, sitting up frantically in bed. Running my hand through my tangled hair, I try to catch my breath. I'm drenched in sweat, my bed sheets are a snarled mess, and my heart is beating rapidly in my chest, but I have much bigger problems to worry about.

I just had one of the wildest dreams of my life. And it was about Paul.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" I whisper, maneuvering out of my mess of blankets to get out of bed. It's nearly three-thirty in the morning. Quickly, I stumble through the dark towards the bathroom. I splash water on my flushed face, trying to cool down.

Logically, I tell myself that I only had a dream like that because it's been awhile, and he was the person in it as either because my brain has a twisted way of telling me I'm not yet accepting of him being my step-brother or because of what happened earlier tonight.

With a sigh, I grab a hair tie off the sink and pull my hair out of my face into a pony tail. I just need to go back to bed and pretend like that dream never happened. After all, it's a dream; nobody else will know. I drench my face with cold water one more time, before flicking off the bathroom light and heading back to my room. The moonlight shines through the window, lighting up the hallway enough for me to see.

However, it's not bright enough for me to notice a figure walking towards the bathroom.

I stifle a scream, although my heart has been pounding too much since I woke up for my pulse to possibly increase at the scare. "Paul, you scared me!"

His laugh echoes through the empty hallway. He runs his hand through his bed-messed hair. He's not wearing a shirt, just boxers, and even in the dim lighting I can see his chiseled abs. I have to use all my strength to not let my eyes wander south of the 'v' below his abdomen.

Oh god. My pulse races just at the sight of him, and I know my logic about my dream was wrong. It wasn't some psycho-analysis crap; I just blatantly want him.

"Sorry," he replies with a smirk. "You okay? You look, um, a little flustered." Paul lets out as amused chuckle.

I feel my face blush even deeper, which I notice makes his smirk grow even wider. What if he _knows_? "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Just had, um, a bad dream. That's all." Bad wasn't technically wrong.

Instantly, the slightly cocky expression I thought I saw on his face disappears. He reaches out, almost instinctively, and strokes my arm soothingly. "Are you okay?"

I just away from his touch. While I thought I was being subtle, unfortunately, I jump almost directly into the wall. "Yeah, great. Promise," I lie, backing away carefully towards my room. "Goodnight."

Paul looks immensely confused, slightly concerned, and a little bit amused – probably at the humiliation I just bestowed upon myself by jumping into a wall. Nonetheless, he says goodnight and continues on towards the bathroom.

I shut my door quietly and flop onto my bed.

Well, I won't have to worry about ruining my mom's marriage, because I'm sure that little incident showed Paul how pathetic I am. Sighing, I shut my eyes and try to fall back to sleep. I'm probably being paranoid. It's completely plausible that he thought I was flustered from a scary dream and jumped away from him because I was still jumpy over the dream.

At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself if I'm gonna fall asleep tonight.

…

When I wake up on Monday morning, I'm slightly stunned at how bright it is in my room. Even though it's starting to get light earlier, I really didn't expect it to be this bright. I groan, rolling over to grab my phone off my bedside table.

"Fuck!" I exclaim, noticing that it's nearly ten o'clock. How could I have slept in this late? Why didn't my mother wake me up before she left for work? Paul and I haven't really talked since Friday night's events, but I'm pretty sure it's just because he hasn't been home. Why didn't he wake me up?

Without bothering to shower, I throw on some jeans and a hoodie, pull my hair into a pony tail, and rush to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I run down the stairs and somehow manage not to fall flat on my face.

"Where are you going?" Paul's voice asks curiously. I notice him walk out of the kitchen, banana in hand.

I pause putting on my boot to shoot him a confused look. "School? Why are you still here?"

"Snow day," he responds, mid-bite of his banana. "You looked pretty tired, so your mom didn't wanna wake you up to tell you. I guess."

"Oh," I say, feeling a little stupid as I place my boot back on the rack.

He smirks. "You look disappointed that we don't have school. What the hell is wrong with you Cass?"

I grin shyly at him, but I'm really relieved he's acting normal. I was a little worried that it hadn't been a coincidence that I hadn't seen him in a couple days and that he _was_ actually ignoring me. "I just didn't expect a snow day. Did it snow that much?"

He nods towards the door. "You tell me."

With a shrug, I open the front door. "Shit," I murmur, surprised at the nearly three feet of snow on the ground. Quickly, I shut the door. It's also freaking cold outside. "Guess I'm not going anywhere today."

"Lucky," Paul remarks, walking towards the living room.

"Lucky?" I ask nosily, following him in. "Where are you going? You can't drive in this!"

Paul laughs. "Our parents went to work. I'm sure I would be fine. Anyway, I won't be going anywhere soon. I don't have to work until five. I doubt that will be cancelled, though." He sits on the couch, but I stand in the doorway, not sure if I should join him.

"Sam would make you work outside in this weather? What kind of trouble are people going to get into anyway with three feet of snow on the ground?"

Paul chuckles, seemingly amused, but just shrugs. "Yeah he would. You never know."

I roll my eyes. "He seems like a hard ass."

He bursts out laughing. "You can say that again." Grabbing the remote, he turns on the television. "You wanna watch that show?"

"Once Upon a Time?" I clarify. When he nods, I tease, "I'm surprised you want to watch the _dumb show_."

Smirking, he pats the couch beside him. "Shut it or else I might change my mind."

Shaking my head at his ridiculousness, I sit on the couch – leaving a fair amount of space between us. We begin watching the show, and honestly, we don't do much else all day. In fact, the only time we stop is to grab lunch and snacks. It's kind of nice. We really don't talk much though because Paul is so absorbed in the show. Which I find adorable.

When we're about to start the ninth episode, I notice that it's nearly five o'clock. Exiting out of Netflix so the next episode doesn't start, I inquire, "Paul, don't you need to go to work?"

He checks the time on his phone, then curses under his breath. "Yeah. I do." He pulls himself off the couch. "We should watch more this weekend; I don't have any patrols."

"You have a shitty memory," I tell him, giggling.

Cocking his head to the side, Paul shoots me an extremely confused glance.

"I'm in Port Angeles this weekend. Visiting my dad."

His mouth forms an 'o' shape as realization hits. "Oh yeah, the dad you're not super exciting to see."

"No." I shake my head quickly. "It's not that. He's really not that bad."

Paul shoots me a dubious look. "Your mom would say differently."

Rolling my eyes, I point out, "My mom is obviously biased. He's just not really … paternal? Like he tries, and he cares. He's just really absorbed into his career, and he kinda puts that above everything else."

Paul smiles sympathetically but doesn't say anything. He just stands there awkwardly, as if he's unsure if it's okay to leave after that conversation.

"You're going to be late! Go to work!" I laugh.

Nodding, he heads towards the door. "Don't watch it without me!"

"I've already seen it, remember?" I yell after him, biting back a grin. How the hell is it so easy to push awkward situations aside and have everything go back to normal with him?

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter** **Let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the long wait! Finals, work, and Christmas have made the past few weeks way too hectic for any free time. But thanks to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it. And please enjoy**

 **Chapter 7**

"Hey Dad," I answer my phone, shoving my toothbrush, hairbrush, and some of my makeup into an overnight bag. "Are you on your way?"

"Um." My dad coughs awkwardly, and my heart plummets. Of course. "You see Sweetheart, this case in Tacoma isn't going as smoothly as planned."

"Oh, so you're still in Tacoma?" I state, my voice filled with embarrassingly too much hope. "So you'll be here in about, what? Three or four hours?"

He sighs. "Sweetheart, I'm going to be here until _at least_ Sunday, and by that point the weekend will be over. There won't be any sense going back to Port Angeles for a few hours before heading back to Tacoma for the week."

"But Dad, this was supposed to be our weekend." I sound whinier than I want to, but I can't hide my disappointment. As much as I complained about seeing my dad, I do miss him. Plus, I was looking forward to spending a few hours with Erica.

"I know, I know," he concedes. I can hear papers ruffling; I figure he's still at his Tacoma office – not even at the hotel. "But we'll do something extra special your next weekend up. I promise."

Angrily, I pull my toiletries out of my bag and hastily put them back into their places. "The next time I'm supposed to come up is the week before the wedding. I'm not coming up. We've already been over this!" I exclaim, stomping from the bathroom into my bedroom.

"Andy, I'm so sorry. Why don't you come up next weekend instead? I'll make sure I'm home."

"I can't, Dad. We're picking up the dresses in Seattle next weekend." Tears prick at the back of my eyes as I put my clothes back into the drawer. I shouldn't be getting upset. It's barely been over two weeks since the last time I saw him. "I'll just see you after the wedding I guess."

"I'm sorry, Andy," he sighs. "I really am."

"It's fine." My voice cracks. "I'm used to it."

"Cassandra," he exasperates. "I'm sorry. Work has just been so hectic."

"And it always will be. It's fine. Really."

"I'm so –"

"Goodnight, Dad. Good luck with the case." Quickly, I hit the end call button before he can apologize again. Covering my mouth with my hand, I take a deep breath. He is busy; I don't doubt that, but would it have killed him to take a weekend off? I'm his only daughter. As far as I know.

Once I've calmed down enough to hide my disappointment, I send Erica a text telling her I won't be going to Port Angeles this weekend and head downstairs. Paul and Peter are sitting at the table, chatting, while my mom is cooking supper.

She smiles cheerfully at me. "Is your dad almost here or will you have enough time to eat dinner with us?"

I return a – somewhat fake – smile, replying bitingly, "Well, I should have enough time because he's working in Tacoma all weekend."

The smile falls off my mother's face. "Oh, sweetie. Are you okay?"

Paul's head snaps in our direction, instantly concerned.

"I'm fine," I reply, forcing a laugh. "I didn't even want to go. Plus, it's not like it's a huge surprise. What's for supper?"

"Paul wanted lasagne, so," she gestures towards the oven, dropping the subject, "that's what we're having."

Scrunching my nose, I take a seat at the table beside Paul. "Really, Paul? You couldn't have picked anything else?"

He smirks. "What's wrong with lasagne?"

"You've clearly never had my mother's lasagne before."

I feel something smack the back of my head – likely the hand towel my mom had been holding. "Hey now!" she exclaims in offense.

Laughing, Peter walks over to her and pecks her cheek. "I'm sure it's great honey."

I shake my head quickly. "It's bad, Paul. We're probably going to get food poisoning and die."

Paul frowns, looking overly concerned like he didn't catch my joke and thought I was serious.

"Well then why don't you just drive yourself to Port Angeles and eat alone at your father's condo?" my mom demands, glaring mockingly at me.

"Oh I would if the roads weren't so bad that school was cancelled twice this week."

My mom rolls her eyes as she pulls the lasagne out of the oven. Eyeing it, I'm glad it's not burnt this time.

"The roads aren't even bad," Paul pipes up.

"They are for Cassie here," Peter teases, winking at me.

Crossing my arms, I complain, "Mom, I think our new family is mean and we should call off the wedding."

They all roar with laughter. "Well," she states, cutting the lasagne, "they like my cooking far more than you, so I think I might just stay."

I scoff. "I bet Paul hates it as much as I do. Right Paul?"

"I," Paul snorts, taking a plate of lasagne from my mom, "think I'll stay out of this one."

"You're a terrible step-brother," I inform him with a pout.

He grins devilishly at me. "Good."

Before I can reply, my phone begins to ring.

"When I was a kid, we weren't allowed to have phone calls at the dinner table," Mom chastises me.

Rolling my eyes, I tease, "That's because cell phones didn't exist. And it's just Ricki."

She rolls her eyes too but waves me the go ahead to answer.

In typical Ricki fashion, she doesn't give me time to say anything. "What the hell do you mean that you're not coming up this weekend?"

"Ricki, can I call you back? We're having supper."

"No you may not!" she exclaims. "We were supposed to hang out tomorrow."

"I know, I know," I sigh, sounding like my father. "But my dad's not even in town." My voice cracks and all my disappointment comes back. Right in front of the whole household. Fuck.

"So? Drive up and stay with me!"

"You know I don't like driving on highways in the winter," I whisper, turning away from everyone. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Stop being so over-emotional._ "And besides you're going to be down for the wedding in a few weeks."

Erica sighs in defeat. "I just miss you."

The longest Erica and I had gone without seeing each other was a week, and it was when my dad had taken me to Disney World when I was ten. With a nanny, of course, so he was able to work while I explored the Happiest Place on Earth. "I miss you too, but I have to go before you make me cry," I whispered the last part as quietly as possible. By the sympathetic look on his face, Paul definitely heard me.

The kitchen is eerily quiet when I hang up the phone. Quickly, I take a bite out of the lasagne. It's as disgusting as expected. I think she uses cottage cheese or something, because every other thing she cooks is delicious.

After what feels like forever, Paul ends the silence. "You know, I could drive you up to your friend's house if you want."

I'm slightly confused about how he heard what Ricki said, but then again, she is quite loud. "Oh no, that's okay. Thanks though."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind." I'm about to object, but Paul continues, "I have to pick something up for Dad in Port Angeles for the wedding, anyway. I was just gonna go sometime this week, but if we leave after supper I could drop you off and get there before they close."

The offer is tempting. It would be nice to see the surprised look on Erica's face if I showed up unexpectedly at her doorstep tonight. "Yeah but then I wouldn't have a car to get back with, so someone would have to come get me. And you guys are busy with wedding stuff this weekend, right?" I ask, turning to our parents.

My mother nods with a frown. "But I'm sure we'll have a few hours on Sunday to go up to get you."

"If not," Paul adds, "I can come up and get you. It's no problem."

"I couldn't possibly ask you to drive me there twice."

Taking his last bite of lasagne, Paul quips, "You'll just owe me one."

Hastily, not wanting to risk the store he's going to being closed when we get there, I finish eating, repack my bag, and am ready to head out. As we're putting on our jackets, my mom tells Paul worriedly, "Make sure you come straight back after you pick up the stuff. It's supposed to start snowing badly again tonight."

"Thanks, Marie. Don't worry I'll drive carefully." He sends me a wink. My mom quickly bats the back of his head when she catches him. "I will, I will," he promises as we head out the door.

Once we're in his truck, I shake my head chuckling. "She's such a worrywart."

Paul shrugs, backing out of the driveway. "I don't mind it. My mom's nothing like that."

I don't know much about Paul's mom, so I just squeeze his arm sympathetically.

He smiles at me and my heart races in my chest. After spending _another_ snow day watching Once Upon a Time with Paul, it's safe to say my crush on him hasn't decreased any. It's becoming a problem. "I haven't talked to her in a couple years. I think she's still living in Tacoma."

"Maybe her and my dad are busy having a conference on how to be shitty parents," I jest, snorting at my own lame joke.

"Thought he wasn't that bad?" Paul teases back.

"He's not," I groan. "I'm just pissed at him right now."

"I'm really sorry," he says quietly, watching me more closely than the road.

"Thanks, Paul. But I just…. I don't want to talk about it."

He squeezes my knee lightly before reverting his attention back to the road. "Are you going to call _Ricki_?"

Laughing, I shake my head. "I think I'll just surprise her. Also, when you meet her at the wedding, _please_ say her name without mocking it."

"No promises."

I instantly regret letting Paul drive me to Port Angeles. We're just passing through Forks, and the snow that was supposed to start later tonight has already began. "Maybe we should turn around. The roads will be really bad when you're driving back."

"Don't worry about me. I can drive in the snow," he replies somewhat cockily.

"Yeah Paul," I exclaim, slightly dramatic, "famous last words of a moron who dies in a car accident."

He bursts out laughing. "I'll be fine really."

Frowning, I take his word for it. He does seem like a good driver; at least when he's watching the road and not me. However, once we're nearing the exit to Port Angeles, the snow has turned into a full on blizzard. "I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you drive home in this."

Paul looks like he's about to object, but after inspecting the sights around us, he nods. "It's pretty bad. But I highly doubt your friend's parents would be okay with me staying there."

That was a fair assumption. Erica's parents were the most conservative people I have ever met. Like conservative enough that Ricki tells me she's afraid that they voted for Trump. But nonetheless I'm certain they wouldn't be okay with him staying there. I would pay for a hotel – not that he would ever let me do that – but you need a credit card in your name to do that….

"No… But, I'll call my dad! I have a key to his place."

"I'm not staying at your father's place by myself."

I roll my eyes. "I'll stay with you, obviously."

I'm pleased to see him try to supress a smile. "What about _Ricki_?"

"Stop that!" I scold, before clarifying, "She doesn't even know I'm coming. I'll just show up at her house tomorrow. She'll be equally surprised."

"You sure?" he asks concerned.

"Of course." I smile at him, pulling out my phone. "Hey Dad."

"Andy?" The shock in his voice is so evident I almost cringe. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Well kind of." I pause, cringing at the thought of what I'm about to call Paul. "My, um, step-brother drove me up to Port Angeles, but the roads are too bad for him to drive back home." I notice Paul smile as I call La Push home. It kind of just rolled off my tongue, but it felt so normal to say. "Would you mind if we crashed at your condo?"

"One second, sweetheart." I hear his hand cover his phone, before I hear multiple voices talking – muffled of course.

Quickly, I say, "I'm sorry to bother you. I know you're working. I just didn't want him driving home in this weather."

"No, no, don't apologize." He sighs. "I do have to go, though. You have your key right?"

"So it's fine?" I ask, slightly surprised.

"Yes of course." I can tell he's not really paying attention to our conversation until…. "Wait – you said he's your step-brother, right?"

Paul chuckles. I really need to turn the volume down on my phone. "Yes, Dad!"

"Okay, are you going there now?"

"No," I inform him, pointing wildly to the exit we're supposed to be taking. He rolls his eyes before mumbling under his breath that he's been here before. "We have to stop at the store then we'll be there."

"Okay, I have to go back to work. Text me when you get there. Be safe. Love you."

"Love you, too, Dad," I say to a dead line. He always hangs up fast. I guess I get that from him. "We're good to stay there. One of us will just have to sleep on the couch. It's only a two bedroom, and my dad _always_ locks his doors when he's away."

"Why?" Paul asks, turning onto the main drag of the city.

"He has a maid," I clarify, blushing slightly. My dad was pretty rich, something I'd never been ashamed of since a lot of my friends had maids or nannies. La Push was much simpler, though. It just seems weird to talk about with Paul.

"Oooh, a maid. You never seemed like the rich kid type."

And that's why. "Paul," I groan.

He smiles, pulling into the parking lot of the store. "I'm kidding."

I roll my eyes. "Either way, I wasn't. I lived with my mom in a decent apartment and went to public school like any normal, non-rich kid." Shooting him a wink as I unbuckled my seatbelt, before teasing, "I just had damn nice vacations once a year."

He laughs. "Okay, I'll let that slide. But you stay in here. I don't want you to get sick in this weather. No buts," he adds when I'm about to object.

A smile breaks out on my face. Why does he care about my wellbeing so much? Unfortunately, I'm still giggling to myself seconds later when Paul gets back in the car.

"Whatcha smiling about?" Paul teases, buckling his seatbelt

I blush madly. "N-nothing. Why are you back so quick? Forget your wallet?"

He shakes his head, looking unimpressed. "Closed from the snow storm."

I gape. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You came all this way for no reason."

Shrugging, he turns the car back on. "It's not for no reason. You'll get to see your friend tomorrow, and if they're open tomorrow I'll get the wedding stuff then. Besides, I'm sure your dad has a TV. We can watch some more Once Upon a Time until bed."

I laugh. "Thank you, Paul. You're so sweet."

"Nah, I just want you to think so," he jokes. "Now tell me how to get to your dad's condo."

The roads are terrible, so we're driving ridiculously slowly. It takes probably fifteen minutes longer than it should to get there. We rush from the parking lot toward the building. All his money and he couldn't afford a place with an underground parking lot? Then again, I'm not even sure if Port Angeles has a condominium like that.

While we're waiting for the elevator, we text our parents to let them know we made it safely. Paul let's his dad know that he's going to stay up here for the night. I know my mom is relieved. Paul's eyes bulge slightly when we enter my dad's unit. It's nice, but not _that_ nice. I honestly prefer our cozy home back in La Push.

I notice Paul pick up a note on the kitchen's island. He reads, " _Andy, I think there's extra blankets in the hall closet. You know where everything is. Spare credit card is on top of the fridge if you need anything. You know the pin. Love, Dad._ " Paul shoots me a confused look. "I thought he was in Tacoma?" 

I look at the note and laugh. "That's Eleanor's handwriting. She lives next door. He must've asked her to come over and tidy up I guess – remind me of stuff."

He coughs away a snort. "He couldn't have just texted you?"

I slap his shoulder lightly. "I told you, he tries. Just in non-dad ways."

Changing the subject, he asks, "So, Andy, huh?"

I roll my eyes. "Growing up, my dad called me Andy and Erica Ricki. Which is where we got the nicknames from. They just kinda stuck. My mom used to joke that it was his way of coping with the fact that he never had a son."

Paul chuckles. "I'm sure you're much better than any son he could've had."

Smiling, I ask, "So, what should we do n—?" I stop talking and let out a squeal as everything goes black.

The storm was bad, but I didn't think it would be bad enough to lose power. When I turn to walk toward the drawer where my dad keeps flashlights and candles, I trip over one of the island's stools. I hit the floor with a bang, trying my best not to cry out in pain. "Shit."

"Oh my god," Paul exclaims in horror. Almost instantly I hear him kneel down beside me. A warm arm wraps around me and I feel his hand rest against my cheek. "Are you okay, Cassie? Are you hurt?"

I just stare at him, slightly mesmerized as the moon shines on his dimly lit face. The concern he feels for me is bewildering, but it warms my heart.

"Cassie?" His voice is rising in pitch when I don't say anything.

Then, suddenly words are flying out of my mouth before I even know what I'm saying: "Why do you have to be my step-brother?"

 **It's a bit of a long one, but consider it an early Christmas gift ;) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope everyone had a great holidays! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I love hearing your opinions on the story :) Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8**

" _Why do you have to be my step-brother?"_

"I'm not yet," Paul whispers huskily. His arms pull me closer to him until our faces are so close our lips are lightly brushing against each other.

I decide to take a leap of faith. Because let's face it, I've already dug myself into a hole – I may as well lie in it. Smirking, I look him right in the eye and agree, "That's an excellent point."

Without further hesitation, Paul closes the minimal distance between our lips and pulls me into a long, slow kiss. I instantly respond, running my hands gently up his firm chest to tangle them in his cropped hair. I deepen the kiss, and things heat up a lot more quickly than I ever imagined.

Before I know it, he's lifted us off the floor and my legs straddle his waist as he perches me on the kitchen's island. His hands roam my body fervidly; my hands stay in his hair, pulling his body as close to mine as possible.

I finally break the kiss, solely to let out a moan as his hand slides underneath my shirt.

Almost faster than I thought possible, Paul jerks away from me as if the moan finally brought him back to reality. He clears the space between us to at least a foot. My legs fall limp against the island. I quickly untangle my hands from Paul's now messed hair and rest them against the countertop. "What" – I'm about to ask what's wrong, but I know the answer to that – "the fuck did we just do?" I finish awkwardly.

Paul remains quiet, his brown eyes staring intently into mine. A mixture of shame and pure lust dances through them. He's panting just as much as I am. Eventually, he whispers darkly, "Something very stupid."

I nod slowly, using all my strength to hide the hurt I feel. I'd wanted to kiss him for so long. Then it was unimaginably more incredible than anything I had ever fantasized about. But to him, it was just stupid. Which he's right. It was. But still, I want to cry. Hastily, I hop off the counter, looking anywhere but at Paul as I stumble through the kitchen to find the drawer.

"There's flashlights in here," I say rapidly, my voice squeaky with evident disappointment. "With no power, we can't watch Netflix, so we should probably just go to bed." Turning on the flashlight, I walk around the opposite side of the island to get to the closet. The power has probably only been out fifteen minutes, but it's already getting cold in here.

"Cassie," Paul sighs, sounding frustrated as he follows me to the closet. "Please don't be upset."

"I'm not _up_ set." My voice cracks to my embarrassment. Slowly, I take a deep breath. This cannot be happening.

"Cassie…." he repeats, less frustrated. He reaches out to squeeze my shoulder gently. Because _that_ is obviously what I want from him right now. "You know we can't…" Paul drifts off which annoys me. Because although I'm sure I can figure out what he was going to say, I really want to know what his thoughts are right now.

I jerk away from his touch. "Yeah. I know. I totally agree it was stupid," I squeal. Paul frowns at my words; he makes no sense sometimes. I'm literally agreeing with him, yet he's displeased. "I'm just upset of what my mother would think of this."

Paul gulps. He runs his hand through his hair uncomfortably. I can't even look at him because the anxiety on his face is too upsetting. Which makes no sense to me. "They can't find out about this."

"No shit." I fling the closet door open. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What's wrong?"

Turning around so fast I'm surprised I don't get whiplash, I exclaim, "I'm stranded at my father's condo with my soon-to-be step-brother who just fucking kissed me. There's no power or heat, and my dad only has a sheet and a ridiculously thin blanket in here! Everything is wrong!"

"You're being dramatic," Paul informs me, leaning sideways to look around me into the closet. He doesn't seem concerned about the fact that there's minimal blankets for us. "I only need a pillow really."

"It's freezing in here! Plus my dad always has his heater on full blast so my bed barely has any blankets on it."

"Cassie it's going to be fine. You just take those blankets and put them on your bed. I won't be cold."

"Paul are you insane?" I exasperate, angry at how nonchalant he is being. Less than ten minutes ago we were having a heated make out session on my father's island and now he's acting as if everything is normal and we've never had any sexual tension between us in our lives. "It will probably go below freezing tonight. It's humanly impossible for you not to freeze without more blankets."

He purses his lips and folds his arms across his chest, clearing pondering something. "Well, you'll freeze with whatever is on your bed."

Groaning, I rub my hand over my face, wishing we'd just never come up. If only my dad didn't lock his damn door. At least then we could have access to more blankets. I take a deep breath before quietly muttering out, "My bed's a queen. We could just put all the blankets on it and sleep there." My face is flushed bright red, but then again, it has been since I originally fell on the kitchen floor. Besides, unless he has nocturnal eyesight he shouldn't be able to see me with how the flashlight is pointing.

"Jeez, Cassandra, that sounds like a great fucking idea after what just happened," Paul snaps, his previous composure instantly gone. His hands tremble slightly. It's an odd habit of his that happens whenever he gets angry.

I don't hide the hurt on my face as I glare at him. "It's either sleep on _opposite_ sides of the bed or we both freeze to death." I grab blankets and shove them at him angrily. "Your call, Lahote." I storm towards my bedroom, and I'm honestly a little surprised when he follows me.

I place the flashlight on my dresser so that it shines on the bed. In silence, we add the sheet and blanket over my thin bedspread. He gestures for me to get in bed, then turns off the flashlight and climbs in on the other side.

I turn away from him and wrap my arms around myself, trying to warm up. I was right. It's definitely below freezing. Among the numerous reasons why sleeping in the same bed as Paul is bad, the main reason is that I can't cry myself asleep a mere two feet away. I'm tempted to get up and call Ricki, but I know I shouldn't use my phone until the power is back on and I'm able to charge it.

Besides, I don't think I can relay tonight's events without crying in humiliation and anger. So it should definitely be in person when I do tell her. Plus if I get out of bed, I'll be even colder than I am right now. And I'm already shivering.

I feel a scorching hand rest on my shoulder; Paul's warmth has never felt so inviting before. "Cassie," he whispers softly, "Come here. You're freezing."

"Jeez, Paul, that sounds like a great fucking idea after what just happened," I mock, giving my best effort to keep my voice steady.

He sighs. "You're going to get sick."

Turning around to face him – although I can't really see his face – I whisper through chattering teeth, "It's a bad idea."

"I'll keep my lips to myself. I promise." Before I can object, Paul wraps his arms around me pulling me into his chest.

"It would be stupid not to," I tell him bitterly. Nonetheless, I rest my head on his chest and soak in the warmth radiating from his body. As much as I want to be falling asleep in Paul's arms, the reasons that got us here are not what I was hoping for.

…

When I wake up in the morning, I'm alone and if it wasn't for the fact that I'm in my bed at my dad's condo, I probably would've thought last night was a terrible nightmare. I'm about to get out of bed when I hear Paul's voice muffled from the other side of my door. I freeze.

"No, Leah, I don't know what I was thinking!" His voice is clearly frustrated.

Leah? Why was he talking to her? They didn't seem overly close at Emily's, and at school the guys all complained about how annoying she is.

"Don't be all smug," he complains. "You weren't right… said if I was just nice… happened anyway…" Paul must be pacing throughout the room because he keeps cutting in and out. "Well, _of course_ , he hasn't found out!"

Who hasn't found out what? Quietly, I maneuver myself out of bed, hoping to hear more if I'm closer to the door.

I'm out of luck. My feet just hit the floor when I hear Paul say, "I think she's up. I have to go. Tell Sam I'll probably be back for patrol tonight."

With a frown, I comb my fingers through my hair. From living together, we've seen each other in pretty unappealing states, but after last night, I at least need to look decent to have the confidence to walk out there.

"Good morning," he greets, sitting awkwardly on my dad's couch. "The power's back on."

"Yeah, I see that," I reply, painfully uncomfortable.

Paul stares at me, confusion evident in his expression. Eventually, he mutters, "Should we talk about what happened last night?"

I blink, surprised that he's being so straightforward. "I… um, I think we should just act like it never happened. For our parent's sake."

Paul's face looks crestfallen, but only for a second. Then, he shoots me his signature smirk. "Phew," he jokes in relief. "That's what I wanted to hear. You want to get ready and I'll drop you off at your friend's?"

"Sure. That would be great. If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind!" He pulls out his phone, playing on it as he adds casually, "I can pick you up once you're done, and we can drive home tonight. That way you won't get stranded here tomorrow if it snows again."

I shoot him a questioning look, but shrug it off search through the cupboards. Unsurprisingly, they're empty. "Um, yeah, sure. If you don't mind."

It boggles my mind how nonchalant Paul becomes after awkward encounters between us. Like, yes we're supposed to be pretending it never happened. But it did. And it's still awkward as fuck. "There's no food here," I state, trying to shake off my awkwardness. I reach on top of the fridge. "We can grab McDonald's or something on the way to Ricki's. It's on my dad. It's the least he could do after having so few blankets around."

"It didn't turn out too bad, though," Paul says, smiling warmly at me.

"What?" I blurt out. Didn't turn out too bad as in he also enjoyed having an excuse to cuddle all night long as much as I did?

He coughs. "I didn't find it that cold," he clarifies, although he seems unsure. "Did you?"

I shrug, backing towards my bedroom. "It was, um, okay. Yeah." I point into my bedroom. "I'll go get ready. I'll just be a few minutes."

Before getting ready, I shoot Ricki a text, asking how her morning is going and subtly seeing if she's made any other plans for the day. As expected, she'll be home all day, so it will be quite easy to surprise her. Thank god, because we have _a lot_ of catching up to do.

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks so much to everyone who read/reviewed/favourited/followed! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 9**

"Andy!" Erica screams in excitement as she opens her front door and squeezes me into an enthusiastic hug. It feels weird knocking on her door – I normally just walk right in – but it's worth it for this reaction. "What are you doing here?"

I laugh, pulling out of her embrace. "Surprising you!"

Her smile is engulfing her entire face. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're here!" Her eyes flicker to her driveway, where Paul is in his truck, just about to back out of the yard. "Is that _him_? _He_ drove you?"

He must notice her staring at him, because Paul gives us a quick wave and a small smirk before leaving the driveway.

She giggles. "Oh my god, you're right; he is so much cuter in person. I can't believe he drove you up. That's so sweet! Why didn't you invite him in? My parents aren't even home so it would have been –"

"Ricki," I interrupt, gulping, "I have a lot to tell you. And it's not really good."

The excitement on her face vanishes. "Oh god. What happened? Are you okay?" She ushers me inside. "No wait, don't tell me yet. Let's get some candy and hot chocolate. It will make it easier." I follow her into the kitchen, grabbing some mugs from the familiar cupboard. Being around her is definitely making me feel a bit better.

Once her Keurig is heated up, she begins pouring my hot chocolate. "My mom forgot to lock up her Bailey's in the liquor cabinet last night. Want some?"

I roll my eyes, but nod nonetheless. "Is it bad that I feel like a need it right now?"

She shrugs but pulls me into another hug. "Probably, but I won't judge."

We make our way upstairs with our spiked hot chocolate and boxes of Christmas candies towards Ricki's room. Once we're there, I flop onto her bed and groan dramatically.

She joins me. "Okay, Andy, what happened?"

"So," I begin, but I don't continue. I just burst into tears.

She looks alarmed, but instantly goes into best friend-mode – comforting me and telling me it will be okay. Once the tears have slowed, she asks nervously, "Andy, are you pregnant?"

My eyes bulge out of my head. "No!" I exclaim. "Well, I mean I won't really know until I start my period next week, but no. I'm probably not. It's nothing like that."

Erica lets out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. Because you don't want to have to deal with Liam the rest of your life."

I crack a smile at her joke, but I don't respond.

Which instantly makes her jump to conclusions. "Or would it be Paul's?" she asks, shooting me a knowing smirk.

I cover my face as I feel a blush creep up my neck.

She continues jumping to conclusions. "Cassandra!" she exclaims with too much delight. "What the actual fuck?"

I roll my eyes, laughing at her dramatics. "No, no. It's not that. But _god_ do I ever wish we had. I am such a terrible daughter."

"You're not a terrible daughter for thinking that. Come on. It's okay." When I don't say anything, she sighs. "Okay, what is it you're not telling me?"

"I'm going to tell you. I just don't even know where to start."

"Okay," she conceded, opening a box of assorted chocolates and giving me first pick, "I already know you're attracted to him. I know about the pizza thing. And the walk home after that supper. And the run-in in the hallway. I know about the snow day dates."

"They weren't dates!" I exclaim.

She waves me off. "So what's happened since then?"

"Well, when my dad bailed, Paul offered to drive me up here to see you."

Ricki nods. "That was nice of him. So you guys came up this morning?"

I shake my head slowly. Her attention perks up immediately. "We left last night before the storm. But by the time we got here, the roads were too bad for him to drive home. So we both crashed at my dad's place."

She beams. "Oh my god. The power was out last night. What did you guys do?"

I take a deep breath, feeling ashamed. "Well, it went out right after we got there, and I fell trying to find a flashlight. Paul tried to see if I was okay and – we… we kissed."

She gasps in utter disbelief. "You kissed him?"

"Well, kinda. I mean, he kissed me first."

"He kissed you _first_?" She's practically yelling, and I'm really glad her parents aren't home. God knows, her mother would tell mine in a second flat. "Was it just like a peck? How was it?"

"It was a bit more than a peck," I admit, sheepishly. I can't help but smile as I whisper, "It was amazing. The best kiss I've had in my life." Ricki looks way too happy for me, so I quickly crush her dreams like Paul crushed mine. "Then he said it was stupid."

Erica looks heartbroken for me. "Andy, you know he had to say that. It doesn't mean that he didn't find it as earth shattering as you did."

I scoff. "He's a guy, Ricki. They don't think like that."

"They do when they really care about somebody," she adds quietly. "And from what you've said, that's really what it looks like."

I shake my head hastily. "He's going to be my step-brother. You should be telling me that I should be ashamed of myself. Not that you think he likes me too!"

Erica rolls her eyes, but listens as I tell her the rest of last night's and this morning's events.. "He obviously likes you. There's literally no sense in denying that." I'm about to object, but she cuts me off, "Nuh-uh. Don't even. If he didn't care about your feelings, he wouldn't ask if you're okay twenty thousand times a day." That makes me chuckle. I always kind of felt like Paul asks me that a lot, but if even Ricki notices, he really must. "And he definitely would've tried something while you were sleeping in the same bed."

"That makes no sense. If he didn't care, he would've tried something?" I ask dubiously, confused at her logic.

"Yes!" she insists. "He could've just tried to get some. There would be no consequences for him – obviously you wouldn't tell anybody in case your parents found out. But he at least respects you enough not to put you through that."

I bite my lip. She might have a point. "It doesn't matter anyway. We're pretending like it never happened, remember?"

She groans. "I cannot believe you told him that," she scolds. "He literally gave you the perfect opportunity to get everything out in the open and you shoot it down with some bullshit lie!"

"Why do I feel like you're taking Paul's side in all of this?"

Sighing, she shrugs. "Because this guy is perfect for you, Andy. I know you better than anyone, and I find it so obvious. I just wish there was a way for you guys to be together, without fucking up your mom's marriage."

"Believe me," I snort, "if there was a way to do that, I would be all over it."

A mischievous overtakes her face. "I'll think of something."

Rolling my eyes, I turn on her TV. "Whatever. We have a lot of other catching up to do." We spend the next few hours doing just that. Erica catches me up on all the gossip going on at school and at the movies that I've been missing out on. I expected to feel a twinge of wistfulness; however, I've been having so much fun in La Push with Paul and his friends that I haven't really missed my life in Port Angeles. Of course, I've missed Ricki, but that's about it.

"Oh, you know what we should do! We should go see that new comedy with that Franco guy in it!"

"Why Him," I supplement.

She nods. "Everyone at work says it's really funny!"

"Ricki," I whine, checking my watch. "Paul's already been wasting time in town for a few hours. I don't want to make him wait around all day long."

Smiling mischievously, she offers, "Invite him!"

I shoot her a dubious look.

Giggling, she rolls her eyes. "I want to meet him before the wedding. Come on! Just ask him."

She sends me puppy dog eyes, causing me to sigh. "Fine." Pulling out my phone, I dial Paul's number.

"Uh, no, speaker!"

I oblige, smirking. Poor Paul. I put my finger over my lips, warning her to stay silent.

"Hello," Paul answers.

"Hey!" I reply, cheerily.

"You ready to go home?"

"Well," I drag out the word slightly dramatically, "Ricki wants to go see a movie and we were wondering if you wanted to come. If not, then we can totally just go home now."

"What kind of movie?" Paul asks hesitantly. I can tell by the sound of his voice that he's smiling, though.

"A comedy. It's supposed to be really good," I assure him. "And she works there, so we can get in for free."

"That's not bad." He laughs. "But I'm not sure if I can trust your taste in movies."

I scoff, but I can't really blame him after all the old movies he's caught me watching on Netflix. "I'll have you know my taste in movies is just as great as my taste in shows."

"I'm holding you to that, so don't disappoint."

I giggle, before asking excitedly, "So you'll come?"

"I'd love to. What time?"

"We'll meet you at the theater in like, half an hour?"

"See you then."

Hanging up, I look up to see Ricki beaming at me. "What?"

"You two are absolutely _adorable_."

I roll my eyes. "You're insane. That was a conversation."

"Yes, but it sounded way more like a conversation between a couple or two good friends. Not one between step-siblings who met a few weeks ago."

I do my best to brush off her words, but deep down, I really want them to be right. "Let's get ready and go. I don't want to miss the previews."

She gets dressed quickly, while I take our mugs and garbage down to the kitchen. Luckily, the movie theater isn't too far from her house, so we hop in her car and are there on time. I immediately notice Paul sitting in one of the arm chairs in the lobby.

Ricki notices him too; she's literally gawking at him. I elbow her with a quick glare before we join Paul.

"Hey," he greets, standing up from his seat.

"Hey." Now for the awkward introductions. "Ricki this is Paul. Paul, this is Ricki."

Paul shoots her a polite smile, but Ricki grins mischievously. "I've heard _so_ much about you."

I shoot her death glares. God, this was just like when Paul introduced me to Jared.

Luckily, Paul laughs. "All good, I hope?"

She shrugs, before joking, "For the most part."

Paul looks immensely concerned at this, but I interrupt Ricki's teasing attempts. "Alright, let's go get in line before we miss the movie."

We walk over to the lineup, discussing what we're going to get. I'm not surprised when Paul decides he wants a large popcorn all to himself. When it's our turn, Ricki uses her employee passes to get us tickets and then we order our food. I'm relieved when it's one of the newer girls working at concessions and not Liam. I really don't want to talk to him, especially with Paul around.

Ally, the new girl, asks how I'm liking my new home and if I miss it here. I don't think anybody who's ever worked here misses it when they leave.

As we're walking towards our theater, Paul says, "I didn't know you used to work here."

I shrug, "Yeah, for almost two years. I was a supervisor actually."

"I still can't believe they promoted Hanna when you left," Ricki interjects.

Smirking, I tease, "Well, it's not like they could've promoted you." Ricki was a little too easygoing to be a supervisor; that's for sure. But she and Hanna were hired at the same time and she's told me multiple times how upset she is that they didn't pick her.

She glares playfully at me, but doesn't disagree this time.

I sit between Paul and Ricki in the theater, and I think the movie turns out to be quite funny. Initially, I kept sneaking glances at Paul throughout it; however, when Ricki caught me, the satisfied smirk on her face was enough to make me stop.

"Well," Paul tells me as we're walking out, "your taste in movies isn't terrible. But it's definitely not on par with your taste in shows."

I blush, noticing the grin on Ricki's face. She's just loving this. Nonetheless, I shove him jokingly. "Oh shush, it was hilar—" I'm cut off by a familiar voice calling my name.

"Cassie!" I notice Liam walking out of the theater across from the one we were just in, broom in hand. Of course, he was working usher and not at the cash. Just my luck.

Ricki's grin disappears off her face.

"Liam, hey," I reply, awkwardness evident in my tone.

"I haven't heard from you since New Year's?" he says, evidently looking for a reason.

I nod, shrugging. "Yeah, I know. It's, uh, been crazy with moving and starting school and stuff." My excuse is lame, but I don't even care. Ricki has essentially told him – maybe too subtly for his brain? – that I'm not interested.

"I bet," he laughs, eying Paul wearily. Maybe I'm imagining it, but I'm pretty sure Paul stepped closer to me as soon as Liam spoke to me. "How long are you in town for?"

"We're actually heading back to La Push right now," Paul interjects shortly.

My head shoots toward him in surprise; he doesn't look impressed. That confuses me. What the hell could he have against a guy he doesn't even know?

Liam frowns at Paul, before smiling at me hopefully. "Well, maybe next time you're in town, we could meet up?"

Oh god. I don't want to be a bitch and shoot him down, but I have no desire to ever hang out with him again. "Um, I probably won't be in town for a while, with the wedding and all."

Liam grins wryly at me. "Oh yeah, you still need a date for that?"

I notice Paul's hands are trembling slightly, and I swear to god if looks could kill, poor Liam would not be breathing right now. Was he actually jealous of _Liam_? He's the one who said last night was stupid. And besides, it's not like I was flirting back with Liam. It must be something else; I must just be being paranoid again.

Luckily, Ricki comes to the rescue. "That's not really necessary anymore." She jerks her head in Paul's direction. "Now Cassie and her _friend_ really need to get home before another storm starts. You're working tomorrow right?" He nods, as she's shooing Paul and I towards the exit. "See you then!"

"Bye Erica, Bye Cass!" He calls as we head down the hallway.

"Bye," I call back, waving awkwardly.

"Really Ricki?" I ask dryly once we reach the basically empty parking lot. "My _friend_?"

"What?" she laughs innocently. "He doesn't have to know he's your step-brother. Besides, it worked. We got away from him."

I roll my eyes, before chuckling. "Thank god." I'm surprised to see relief on Paul's face at my words. Ricki and I say our goodbyes, while Paul stands by awkwardly. He still seems off, like something's bothering him.

"Okay, you guys have to go," Ricki says, giving me a hug. "Let me know when you get back!"

"We will," I promise. "See you later!"

I follow Paul to his truck. He doesn't say anything as we get in. He still looks annoyed, but his hands aren't doing that odd trembling thing. Paul puts the key in the ignition. Before he can start the car, I place my hand on his arm, freezing him in place. "Is everything okay?"

Biting his lip, Paul responds slightly angrily, "Please tell me you never had a thing with that guy?"

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :) I know some of you are anxious for him to finally tell her about the wolf thing, but be patient, I promise it's coming soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **Chapter 10**

"Excuse me?" I ask, slightly offended because despite not being my type sober, Liam is actually a nice guy and there's nothing wrong with him. But mainly, I'm just utterly confused at the anger in his voice.

"Please tell me you never had a thing with that guy?" he repeats, gripping the steering wheel.

I shake my head, feeling slightly angry myself. Who the hell was he to have an opinion on people I've had relations with? "No, I heard what you said. I'm just not sure what you meant."

"Did you fuck that guy?" he questions. This time it's not anger I hear in his voice – it's pure jealousy. I was right with my earlier suspicions.

"As my _step-brother_ , that's none of your fucking business," I snap.

Paul cringes, but quickly recovers by arranging his face into a scowl. "How about as the guy you made out with last night? Is it any of my business now?"

"How about we're not supposed to be talking about that, so no!" My voice is becoming squeaky as I begin to panic. The last thing I want is to fight with Paul over someone as insignificant as Liam.

Running his hands through his hair in frustration, Paul takes a calming breath. "But what if I want to be talking about it?" His words take me by surprise, causing me to look into his eyes. They're pleading.

All I can think of is Erica's comment about Paul giving me the perfect opportunity to talk about whatever the hell was going on between us. I know she would kill me if I blew it a second time, but…. "You're the one who said it was stupid."

"Cassie," he exclaims desperately, "what the hell was I supposed to say?"

"I don't know," I cry, extremely glad that the parking lot around Paul's truck is basically empty. "How about _that was fun_ or _we probably shouldn't have done that_. Not _that was stupid_."

He shakes his head in disbelief. "I was freaking out! I wasn't thinking straight. Can't we just please talk about it now?"

I buckle my seatbelt, signalling that it's time to go. "There's nothing to be talking about Paul," I reply quietly, attempting to keep the sadness out of my voice.

"Why?" he demands, unbuckling my seatbelt and turning his body to face me. I'm about to point out the obvious, but he interrupts with, "Give me one good reason we shouldn't talk about what happened outside of the fact that our parents are engaged."

I bite my lip, annoyed because he knows I can't. At least not a true one. My mind scrambles as I try to bullshit an excuse. "Because what happened isn't a big deal. Teenagers do that shit - hell adults do it too – all the time. It doesn't have to mean anything."

Paul's face turns to stone, and he actually glares at me. I don't think I've seen him glare _at me_ since the first night we met.

When he doesn't say anything, I continue – digging myself deeper, "Besides, it was a really vulnerable situation. I mean, we could've crashed and died in the blizzard, then we were stranded at my dad's, and then the power went out. So we definitely weren't thinking straight. And again, like you said: it was stupid."

"No, Cassie," Paul states, looking deeply into my eyes. His glare is gone, but he's staring so intensely at me that it's taking my breath away. "What was stupid was me thinking that I wouldn't fall for you."

My jaw drops as I take in his words breathlessly. _Calm down, Cassie. He said fall for you – not fall in love with you_. But is there really a difference? "Paul," I whisper, tears pricking the back of my eyes, "don't."

"Then tell me you don't feel anything for me, and we'll drop it. Forever." His eyes are begging me not to. I've never seen him look so vulnerable. It basically dissolves all the anger I felt for him mere minutes ago. When I don't reply, he whispers hopefully, "I see the way you look at me."

"So I find you attractive," I bluff poorly, looking anywhere but at him. "That doesn't mean anything."

"You're a terrible liar, Cass," he laughs softly. He reaches across the cab of his truck, stroking my cheek gently.

I lean into his warm touch, closing my eyes. "I know," I sigh. When I open my eyes, Paul is smiling so lovingly at me that I can't help but beam up at him. It reminds me of how Peter looks at my mother, only so much more adoring. Which I never knew was possible.

Keeping his hand resting on my cheek, he slides closer until our faces are just inches apart. It's different than last night: less rushed, less lustful. However, my heart is still hammering in my chest. For a few minutes, he just stares at me lovingly. He whispers, "You're so beautiful."

Blood rushes to my cheeks, but I'm too tongue-tied to say anything. That is, until he leans in closer, attempting to capture my lips in a sweet kiss. "We can't," I breathe, but I don't have to pull back because he freezes in place.

Sighing, he repeats, "Then tell me you don't feel anything for me, and we'll drop it. Forever."

Tears well in my eyes. "I can't."

"Please don't cry," Paul whispers, sounding like he's in torture. For some reason, his pain just makes me feel worse and I start to cry. He wipes the tears away gently. "I'm sorry I said anything about that guy. You were right; it's none of my business. I was just being jealous and stupid."

Although I'm glad he can acknowledge that, his apology doesn't make me feel any better. "That's not why I'm upset."

He doesn't ask why. He knows why. Nonetheless, I elaborate. "I've never seen my mom as happy as she has been with your dad. And whatever this is," I gesture between the two of us, "could completely ruin that. I can't do that to her."

Paul bites his lip, looking slightly scared. "Cassie, I've never felt this way about anybody before. I can't get you out of my head. And believe me, I've tried. I don't want to risk ruining our parents' marriage either, which is why I tried so hard not to fall for you." He shoots me his signature smirk. "But you're so god damn perfect you're making it impossible."

Laughing through teary eyes, I hit him playfully. "That is bull shit. I'm so not perfect."

"You are to me," he quips, smiling warmly at me.

"Paul," I cry, "we can't do this. Our parents would never be okay with it."

"Then let's just not tell them!" he exclaims hopefully.

"How the hell can we date without the people we live with noticing? And La Push is such a small town, if anybody found out they would know in a split second!"

"Then what if we don't tell anybody?"

I can't help but roll my eyes. "Paul, be serious."

"I am. What if we just keep it between ourselves until graduation? Then, our parents can live obliviously in happiness, and by that time we'll be old enough to move out and it wouldn't really ruin anything."

I love the sound of that, but it is so idealistic. Couples in high school don't usually last forever, let alone a year and a half. "What if we try and realize we're better off as mutually-attracted step-siblings than as a couple?"

"Then we go back to that," he replies simply. "No one will know, so it won't be that awkward."

"What if it ends _badly_?"

He bites his lip, unhappy with that concept. "Then we'll be step-siblings who don't get along. That's not exactly earth shattering. Hell, they were probably expecting that."

"Wouldn't they be suspicious that we went from great friends to hating each other?"

"Or," he states, "maybe things will go greatly and none of this even needs to be considered."

"Maybe..." I admit. But I can't help but tease him as I try to change the subject, "You know, I still can't believe how jealous you were over Liam. Especially since I never once overreacted about Olivia"

"That's so not the same thing."

"How is it not?"

"You definitely did not have feelings for me then!"

"Are you joking? Of course I did! I'm pretty sure I was a goner the second I came into the kitchen and you had no shirt on. And if not then, definitely when you made me pizza." The pleased smirk on Paul's face makes me realize what I just blurted out. My face burns in embarrassment. "Oh my god, I cannot believe I just said that."

His smirk doesn't leave his face as he pecks my forehead gently. "Don't be embarrassed." Then he winks at me. "Maybe I should stop wearing a shirt again."

I smirk right back at him, trying to conceal my blush. "Well, I wouldn't be opposed."

This time when he leans in to kiss me, I let him. Our lips move gently in symmetry until I finally pull away, breathless.

"See?" I breathe, gesturing between us. "How would we be able to hide this? What if they found out before the wedding?"

"I've been hiding my feelings for you since day one." He smiles warmly at me. "We can do this."

"Well, not very well. Ricki suspected it the whole time, and she's 70 miles away in Port Angeles!"

Paul smirks. "Yes, but our parents – and certainly you – weren't able to tell." He bops me on the nose affectionately.

Covering my blushing face, I laugh. "You're so corny."

He snorts, nodding reluctantly in agreement. "I _never_ used to be, believe me. This is all your fault."

Giggling, I pat him on the back. "If it makes you feel better, I never used to like it." After a few moments of silence, I take a deep breath and ask reluctantly, "Are we really going to try to do this?"

"I would love to. As long as you want to, too."

Nodding, I bite back a smile. "On the condition that we don't tell anybody in La Push. We can't have our parents finding out – especially before the wedding. It's a lot easier to call off an engagement than to file for a divorce."

Paul looks hesitant, which confuses me. Who does he want to tell? Or is he worried that he won't be able to keep it a secret?

"Paul!" I exclaim when he doesn't answer.

"Okay." He nods. "But you can't tell Erica, either."

I frown. "But she's not even in La Push. Why would it matter?"

Paul looks at me dubiously. "She'll be at the wedding!"

"I guess," I admit. "Fine, I promise. I won't tell her for now."

Smiling, Paul slides back to the driver's side of his cab. "Now since that's settled, we should really go home."

Nodding, I re-buckle my seatbelt. "Oh yeah, you have to work tonight, don't you?"

Paul shoots me a confused look as he starts the truck. "I don't remember telling you that."

Grinning, I look out my window innocently. "I may have, um, overheard part of your conversation with Leah this morning."

Paul smirks, driving out of the parking lot. He reaches over, holding my hand in his. "And you're not gonna ask what we talked about?"

"Well, I'm not as psychotically jealous as you are," I tease, leaning over to peck his cheek. It drives me crazy how insanely comfortable and easy everything is with Paul. It's like everything just feels natural. "But," I admit sheepishly, "I have a feeling it was about me."

"You caught me," he admits. "She gives decent advice, but don't worry I won't _say_ anything else to her about it."

I nod. The way emphasizes certain words makes me feel like I'm missing out on an inside joke – just like when I'm with his friends. But like usual, I'm probably being paranoid so I ignore it. "You know, based on how you guys talk about her at school, I didn't think you two were that close."

Paul shrugs. "We never were really. But like I said, she gives good advice. And," he grins over at me, "she likes you."

I snort. "Leah Clearwater likes me? I thought she didn't like anybody."

He grins charmingly. "Well, you're hard not to like."

Rolling my eyes, I lean my head back on the seat and look out this window. This road trip definitely turned out to be better than I thought it would be at this time last night. However, if I had a hard time hiding my feelings for Paul, I know hiding the fact that we're dating is going to be an even bigger struggle.

And hiding it from Ricki? Well, that's going to be nearly impossible.

 **Please let me know what you think! I'm going away until Monday, so I wanted to post this before I leave. The wait for the next chapter shouldn't be too long; however, it probably won't be written until after I get back. Thanks for reading :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm super sorry for the long wait! Things have been crazy with school and all since I got back. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited, etc.!**

 **Please enjoy :)**

 **Chapter 11**

The past few days since we returned from Port Angeles have been a bit of a whirlwind. Sunday, our first day as a secret couple, almost resulted in our secret being outed. When I was leaving my bedroom that morning, I had run into Paul in the hallway – which wasn't atypical. However, Paul capturing my lips in a good morning kiss would've been disastrous if my mother had walked out of the bathroom two minutes earlier than she did.

Thankfully, we lucked out, and I noticed that the bathroom door was shut before we got caught. We were back to perfect step-sibling behaviour when she came out.

After that incident, we decided not only did we have to be more cautious, we needed a code-word for when our parents were around – just in case one of us were aware. It was more of a code-concept, but we decided to use a sentence with our show in it. Only to know the difference between the code-word and just plainly wanting to watch the show, we'd refer to it as the full name – Once Upon a Time – rather than the abbreviated "Once" that we usually refer to it as.

It was an ingenious idea really. Peter and my mom always teased us about how much we watch the show, so they won't ever expect a thing.

I quickly realized that weekdays are going to be a lot easier to get through than weekends. Our parents are typically home all weekend. Throughout the week, on the other hand, they were gone to work before we got up for school, we were home for at least an hour after school before they were, and they went to bed before we did. This left loads of time for flirtatious teasing, cuddling, and – of course – make out sessions.

Although I'm confident that we've mastered hiding this from our parents, I'm still quite nervous that we're not doing as great of a job at hiding it from Paul's friends. Although with how much I've been hanging out with them, I almost consider them my friends too.

In fact, Paul and Jared aren't in the cafeteria yet, so I'm sitting with Kim, Embry, Jacob, and Quil.

"So how was Port Angeles?" Kim asks me, smiling kindly. She's growing on me, I'll admit. Her quietness doesn't bother me as much as it used to. Plus, she usually manages at least one full conversation when I see her, rather than the awkward silence I originally dealt with. Nonetheless, I must admit Leah is much more amusing to be around.

"Yeah, did ya have fun?" Jacob asks, smirking suggestively. Quil elbows him in the side, shooting him a warning glance.

I take a gulp of my water anxiously. Was it possible that they had already figured Paul and I out? There was no way he had told them! "Uh, yeah, it was great. Didn't get to see my dad, but whatever."

Jacob is about to ask something, but I quickly cut him off. I don't want to end up digging myself into a hole I can't get out of.

"So how was your guys' weekend?" Thankfully, they talk about their own weekends until Paul and Jared show up. Jared gives Kim a quick kiss as they sit down at the table. As much as I know it's ridiculous, I feel a little jealous that we aren't able to do that. Instead, Paul sends me his signature smirk as he takes a seat beside me.

Rolling my eyes, I continue eating my lunch. At least Jacob finally stopped asking about my weekend.

On Tuesday night, Emily and Sam invite us over for dinner at their place. My mother, however, was adamant about us all having a family dinner. I did have to admit that we've rarely had them over almost a month that we'd been living here.

After our own dinner, we headed over to Emily's house. The crowds clearly thinned out after supper was over. Only Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Embry, and Leah were there when we got there. It always confuses me why Leah is around when she never seems to want to be there. Like, why doesn't she just leave after her shifts? Paul just shrugs off the question without giving an actual answer though whenever I ask.

Either way, I didn't mind.

Shortly after we arrive, Emily suggests that we play a board game or something rather than just sit around the living room watching television. I immediately get excited over this idea – I love board games. I notice Paul smiling in amusement at me, and I quickly tone down my excitement. I can't have him shooting loving glances at me if we're going to keep our secret.

"I think Monopoly is the only game we have that's eight players," Sam declares, walking back into the living room with an old version of the game in hand.

"I'm not playing," Leah states from her seat over in the corner of the room.

"Shocker there," Embry says sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her.

She glares at him before getting up, looking like she's about to leave.

"Oh come on, Leah. It'll be fun," I enthuse. Emily agrees with me, almost as enthusiastically.

She shoots me a dubious look. "I'm not in the mood for board games."

"Why? Scared you're gonna lose?" I challenge. I notice Paul smirking from his seat on the couch beside me. Ever since he told me that Leah doesn't hate me, I've decided to try and become actual friends with her. If anything, it will be a challenge.

She sends me an unamused glance, but I see her lip twitching as she fights back a smile. "I don't lose Monopoly."

Embry, Jared, and Paul roar with laughter, before Paul gestures towards me. "Cass here says the same thing, so I think it'll be a good one."

Smiling, I roll my eyes, but I'm glad that he's actively helping me include Leah.

After much grumbling and a few more encouraging remarks from Emily and I, Leah finally gives in and we start the game. It ends up being an extremely fun night. I learned quite a few things about Paul and his friends.

Embry is terrible at math, evident from his poor performance as the banker.

Emily doesn't understand most of the rules of Monopoly.

Sam doesn't like not being in control, and the dice frequently put him in jail.

Jared is too absorbed with watching Kim to know when it's his turn.

Kim is, thankfully, a hell of a lot more competitive than I would have thought.

Paul is a very sore loser, and pouted at me for the remainder of the game after I took the rest of his money when he landed on my New York Avenue property. It's not my fault there was a hotel on it.

And Leah, well, let's just say she was right: she doesn't lose Monopoly.

Since the game lasts fairly long, we head straight home afterwards. Our parents are already in bed when we get home. When we get upstairs, Paul grabs my hand, gently pulling me into his chest before I reach my doorway. I don't miss his eyes flicker to the bathroom door across the hallway, making sure it's empty.

Reaching up to my tippy toes, I place a soft kiss on his lips. "I don't know why, but I never thought you'd be such a poor sport," I tease.

He glares playfully at me. "Well, I expected you to be better at Monopoly."

I scoff quietly in mock offence. "Excuse me? I was good enough to get you out. And I only lost to Leah."

Smirking, he runs his hand down my side, stopping at my rear. My heart hammers in anticipation as I wait for him to kiss me or grope me or something. But he just continues to smirk teasingly. "Competitive Cassie is quite sexy, I must admit."

Grinning, I trace my fingertip southward along the curves of his abs. Two can plan at the teasing game. "Oh really?"

Paul nods, biting back a groan. My grin widens; however, he quickly wipes it off my face as he captures my lips in a heated kiss. I tangle my hands in his hair as I pull him closer to me, deepening the kiss. Paul's hand roam freely over my body, groping in all the right places. It's takes an enormous amount of effort to keep quiet as things escalate.

Without really thinking, I begin backing into my bedroom without breaking the kiss. However, it's Paul that breaks it off just as he's about to pass through my doorway.

I pout at him, causing him to chuckle.

"Cass," he whispers, caressing my cheek. "If my dad or Marie woke up…."

"We'll hear them open the door to the basement," I point out hopefully.

Paul ponders my words, clearly looking tempted. "We've only really been dating a few days."

I roll my eyes, snorting quietly. "I doubt that's stopped either of us before."

Smirking, Paul shrugs in agreement. He knows he can't deny that. "Listen, you horny girl," Paul teases, pecking my lips softly. "We both have to get to bed, and I think we'd have a much more fun time if we didn't have to try to keep quiet."

My face flushes immensely; I let go of his hands to cover my face.

"You're so adorable," he whispers, pulling my hands away from my face to kiss my cheek gently. "Get some sleep, baby. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Paul," I murmur as he disappears to his own room. As I'm getting ready for bed, I'm torn between my pleasure of how charming Paul is and my disappointment at how hesitant he seems toward taking things to the next level. I mean, I would understand if it was either of our first times, but we both know that's not the case. And sure, it's fast – but isn't that the norm nowadays? – and everything feels so natural between us. Plus, if it's anything like our kisses or make out sessions, I know it will be absolutely mind blowing.

So why does he seem so hesitant about it? I groan, collapsing onto my bed. More than anything, I wish I was able to talk to Ricki about all of this.

…

On Thursday, Paul asks me if I want to go over to Emily's again, this time for supper. Of course, I'm more than willing to, and my mother happens to have supper plans with a couple of her coworkers. So it's safe to say she isn't opposed.

Just like last time, dinner is delicious and conversations are slim as the boys and Leah pile copious amounts of food into their mouths.

"So, Cassie," Jared interrupts the silence, smiling knowingly, "you've been hanging out with us a lot more than usual."

My heart hammers in my chest. Oh my god. Does he know? Paul and I promised we wouldn't tell anybody. I haven't even caved and told Ricki yet! I mean it's one thing if she knows, hidden away in Port Angeles; it's a whole other story if people in La Push know.

"Well," I say, trying to keep my voice level, "it's a lot of effort to be social and make friends, so I figured I would just steal Paul's."

Everyone laughs, except for Paul. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice him shooting Jared death glares.

Unlike the other night, we leave shortly after dessert is served. The house was a lot more crowded than on Tuesday since the whole "pack" was there basically. Which essentially meant there was more inside jokes that I didn't quite comprehend. Plus, Paul was getting increasingly annoyed with Jared tonight, which made me suspicious.

On the walk back to our house, I keep my arms folded across my chest. The last thing we need is Paul trying to hold my hand and some nosy neighbour seeing it from their window.

He's blabbering on about how annoyed he is with the latest episode of Once and how we should watch some before we go to bed. Logically, I know that's a bad idea. We have school tomorrow, and we rarely can watch just one episode.

But that's not the reason I don't reply.

"Cass?" Paul asks in concern, gently stroking my back.

Taking a deep breath, I ask, "Did you say anything to Jared or any of them about us?"

He looks surprised, but shakes his head quickly. "No, I didn't say anything to them. Why would you ask?"

I shrug, sighing. Look at me, being paranoid again. Big shocker there. "Just seems like they know something."

Smiling, he kisses the top of my head. "If they do, it's nothing I've said to them. Promise."

I push him away, smoothing my hair. "Well, the whole town will know if you keep that up!"

Paul bites back a laugh, before apologizing half-heartedly.

Rolling my eyes, I can't help but grin up at him. "No more than two episodes. I need sleep," I tell him, answering his earlier question.

The excitement on his face makes be chuckle. "Does that include a make out intermission between episodes?"

I pick up my pace, so he can't see my reaction. Secretly dating your step brother has proven to be difficult, but that being said, it's been quite convenient when your parents are out or asleep. Especially since their room is in the basement and ours are upstairs. "Only if Mom and Peter are asleep."

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 12**

I wake up on Saturday morning to a loud banging on my open door. Without looking to see who it is, I chuck a throw pillow towards it. "Go away Paul," I mumble in annoyance. It's way too early to be up.

I hear laughter, but am – for some reason – surprised when it's my mother's voice. "Well, I didn't think this spray tan worked that well, but I'll take it."

Looking out from my massive pile of blankets, I send her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Mom. I just couldn't think of anyone else who'd wake me up at this ungodly hour on a Saturday. But the tan looks great."

"Thank you. So, you must've forgotten that we're leaving for Seattle in half an hour?"

I groan, immediately shoving my blankets off me and rushing out of bed. "Oh my god. Yes, well, kind of." Paul and I had stayed up rather late last night watching Netflix. He had wanted to finish the third season of Once. I warned him it was a bad idea because season finales were always cliff-hangers, so I assumed he'd be waking me up early to watch more. Nonetheless, I did forgot my mother and I were going to Seattle to pick up her dress, my dress, and her bridesmaids dresses. "I'll be ready in like ten minutes, Mom. I swear."

She laughs, nodding. "Alright, honey. Just let me know when you're ready." She shuts my door before heading downstairs.

Quickly, I scramble through my drawers to find an outfit to wear. We're picking up her bridesmaids on the way, so I know she wants to leave on time. We're picking one of her current coworkers, Susan, up at her house. I guess she helped my mom get the job at Forks Hospital before we moved here, and they've become close since then. Her other bridesmaid, who we're picking up in Port Angeles, is Margaret. She was my mom's maid of honour at my parents' wedding; they've been friends since they were in high school.

Then we'll be heading to Seattle to try on the dresses one last time and bring them home. I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, so I feel really guilty about letting it slip my mind.

After getting ready, I head towards the staircase. I sneak a peek through Paul's open door. He's snoring away, which causes a smile to bloom across my face. He's so adorable. Besides, I should've known he wouldn't be able to drag himself out of bed this early to wake me up.

We leave as soon as I'm downstairs, since it won't be too hard to grab a coffee and a breakfast sandwich on our stop in Port Angeles. I take a seat in the passenger side of my mom's SUV. Unfortunately, I know I'll have to sit in the back for the majority of the drive.

I'm surprised at how short the drive is to Susan's house, which is probably silly. After all, like Peter said, nothing is a very far drive in La Push. Mom glances at the time on her phone after she puts the vehicle in park.

"We may as well go in for a few minutes. I'm sure she's still finishing getting ready," she informs me, unbuckling her seatbelt.

I follow suit. I guess the drive was quicker than Mom was anticipating too.

We knock on the front door, and I'm even more surprised at who answers the door.

"Seth?" I exclaim in confusion.

"Hi, Cassie," he replies with a huge smile. He doesn't seem remotely surprised to see me. Then again, I'm sure whereas my mother refers to his mother – presumably – as 'Susan', his mother likely refers to my mother as 'Marie, Paul's step-mother'. Since, after all, everybody knows everybody around here.

My mom is also surprised, evidently curious of how I know Seth. "You two know each other?" she asks, as Seth ushers us into the house and towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, Seth is friends with Paul," I clarify. I'm sure 'works with' would be more accurate since Seth is a couple years younger than us, but Paul and his coworkers all seem really close anyway.

"Hi Marie," Susan greets as we enter the kitchen. She shoots me a friendly smile. "Hi Cassie. It's great to finally meet you. I'm Sue."

I shoot her back a smile. "You too."

Sue is just putting a few things in her purse, but besides that she seems to be ready. Behind her, I notice Leah sitting at the kitchen table, eating some cereal.

"Hey Leah," I greet enthusiastically.

She rolls her eyes, like usual. "It's too early to be so chipper, Cassie," she groans, finishing off the rest of her cereal.

"Leah!" Sue scolds. "Don't be so rude."

Leah smirks. "Oh don't worry, Mom. Seth is Paul's friend, but I'm Cassie's friend." She shoots me a wink, causing me to roll my eyes as I let out a laugh. I'm slightly confused as to how she heard me say that about Seth all the way at the door, but I'm honestly just flattered that she considers me her friend. Even though, I guess in her mind that means she's allowed to be 'rude'?

I notice my mom smiling; she's mentioned a couple of times how I haven't had any friends over since I started school. Luckily, me hanging out with Paul's friends had shut her up, but I can tell she's happy to know that I actually have some friends here.

"So what are you guys doing today?" I ask Seth and Leah as Sue zips up her purse.

"Just about to go to work," Seth informs me, still smiling. I swear this kid is always happy.

Leah shrugs. "Nothing."

"Oh you should come with us!" I offer.

Sue seems even more surprised than Leah is at my suggestion. I know Leah doesn't get along too well with most of their gang, but I'm sure she must get along with some other people.

"You want me to go with you guys to watch you try on dresses?" she asks dubiously.

"Oh come on, that will take like ten minutes. I'm sure we'll go shopping or something afterwards. We'll probably stop for food," I add, knowing how important eating is to Paul and all of his friends.

She bites back a smile, but doesn't look convinced.

"You should come Leah. You rarely get out of La Push anymore, and you don't work today," Sue says, looking hopeful.

My mom ends up being the one who convinces Leah to come: "I'm sure Cassie doesn't want to be stuck with a bunch of old ladies all day by herself."

This causes Leah to laugh, and she finally concedes. "Give me five minutes."

True to her word, five minutes later, we are all piled into the SUV and on our way towards the highway. Leah and I amuse ourselves by sharing funny stories – many of which include embarrassing stories about Paul – while our moms chat away in the front seats. We pick up Margaret at her house, and Leah and I slip from the middle seats to the back so that they can all chat freely together.

As promised, my mom stops at Starbucks so that I can grab a coffee and a breakfast. Everyone else grabs a drink as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm really liking living in La Push. But I'm missing being near a Starbucks – and a McDonald's. Especially considering Ricki and I made daily trips to the former and weekly trips to the latter….

It's shortly after lunch time when we arrive at the bridal shop in Seattle. My estimated time in the shop was a little too optimistic, but we were barely there for half an hour. Thankfully, all of the dresses were altered correctly, and they fit perfectly.

Since the store is located in one of the better malls in Seattle, we don't have to travel anywhere to go shopping. After looking at the stores in the mall, my mom, Margaret, and Sue decide there's not anything they really want or need to buy, but they'd like to go see this new romance movie that's out in the movie theater on the top floor of the mall.

There are multiple reasons I don't want to go see the movie. But the main reasons are that it's an independent movie and likely is going to be very cheesy and not very well done, my mom always teases me about how much nicer that theater is than the privately-owned one I worked at in Port Angeles, and the Barnes & Nobel and Victoria's Secret in this mall are calling my name.

"That movie looks terrible," I admit bluntly. "But I'd be more than happy to shop for a couple hours while you guys go to the movie."

"I second that," Leah adds.

They all roll their eyes at us, but nonetheless, they agree that it's a good plan. Once they head towards the escalators to go to the movies, I ask Leah, "Is there any store in particular you wanna go to?"

She shrugs. "Most of the stores here are out of my price range." She gestures to the mall directory: Barney's, Tiffany & Co., Michael Kors, etc.

Laughing, I nod. "Same." Although, since Paul and I didn't go back to my dad's place after breakfast that morning, I did still have his "emergency" credit card. I haven't used it, but he also hasn't said anything, so I'm not sure if he's even realized it's gone. Or he doesn't care. But wasting hundreds of dollars on a sweater probably isn't the best way to find out.

"I wouldn't mind going to Teavana and Barnes & Nobel," Leah decides.

I grin. "Awesome, I wanted to go to Victoria's Secret and Barnes & Nobel. Come on," I say, pulling her in the direction of the bookstore. "It's this way."

Although I've been sure for a bit that Leah and I would become good friends, realizing that she would willingly hang out in a bookstore for an hour just looking through books and talking about ones we've liked and disliked definitely solidified that fact.

When we're finally heading towards the cash, I notice Leah smirking at one of the books in my hand. "What?" I ask, holding the books to my chest defensively.

Snorting, she replies, "Dream a Little Dream?"

Shrugging, I walk up to the open cash register. "I really like the author, okay?" I can't see the cover of the book in her hand, but I'm pretty sure she grabbed it from the romance section. So she's in no place to judge.

After the bookstore, we go up to Teavana for Leah's tea. I'm not much of a tea drinker, so I know it would be a waste of money to buy some. However, the teas that Leah buys do smell really good.

On the way to Victoria's Secret, I begin to worry that it will be awkward shopping there with Leah. Especially since she was friends with Paul first. But I just keep telling myself that she doesn't even know Paul and I are a thing. Plus, it's not like we've actually done anything with clothes off anyway….

To my surprise, Leah roams the store while I buy a few things. She doesn't rejoin me until I've already paid and have my stuff in bags. It's almost like she's purposely avoiding seeing what I pick out.

Then again, I'm probably just being paranoid. We haven't known each other for long and we're not _that_ close, so she might just be uncomfortable. Or maybe she was just genuinely shopping for herself and couldn't find anything.

My phone rings as we leave the shop. "Hey, Mom," I answer.

"Hey, sweetie," she replies. "Are you guys having fun? We just got out of the movie."

"Yeah! How was it?"

She hesitates, before saying half-heartedly, "It was good."

I can't help but snort; Leah and I were right. "We actually just finished shopping. We're on the floor below you. We'll meet you at the escalators?"

"Okay, see you soon!"

We head to meet our moms and Margaret. When I notice them, I'm not pleased to see the conspired look on my mother's face. "Why do I feel like you guys have been talking about me?" I ask nervously, joining them.

My mom's look turns slightly guilty. "Nothing bad! Margaret and Sue were just talking about their plus ones to the wedding, Arthur and Charlie, and I realized that you haven't told me if you're bringing anyone!" I find that suspicious to begin with. Arthur is Margaret's husband and I made the invitations; I know he was included and not as a "plus one".

Instantly, however, my heart begins hammering in my chest. "Who would I bring?" I ask, feigning ignorance.

"Well, what about that Liam boy you said you might bring?"

I swear I notice Leah stifle a laugh. I can't imagine Paul told anybody about our run-in with Liam at the theater the other week, but who knows.

"Mom," I complain. "I'm not bringing Liam. I haven't even talked to him since we moved." It's not really a lie. I mean, sure, I saw him at the movies. And at New Year's. But that one doesn't count because I hadn't moved down at that point.

"Oh calm down, Cassie," she chastises. "I'm just saying. Peter and I were talking the other day about how you haven't brought home any boys since you moved down."

Apparently in addition to talking about how I don't bring friends over, they also discuss how I don't bring boys home. Great.

I send her my best "you're embarrassing me", but I'm sure she doesn't see it that way. After all, I've known Margaret all my life and Sue seems pretty chill. "Mom, I've literally been living here for a few weeks. It's not like I used to bring guys home every day. Besides, Paul never brings anybody home, and I'm sure he's not bringing anybody to the wedding. Why don't you go give him a hard time about it?" I'm practically hyperventilating in awkwardness as I blurt out my spiel.

My mom looks slightly confused, but mostly amused, by my outburst. At least she and Peter actually think I don't have a love life at the moment….

When she doesn't say anything, I continue babbling, "I need to go to the bathroom before we drive back. Leah? Do you have to go to the bathroom?" She looks like she's about to say no, but she just shrugs and follows me as I walk ahead of the others. "We'll meet you at the car."

My humiliation and awkwardness slowly fades as we walk to the bathroom. I'm washing my hands and almost completely calmed down when Leah joins me.

She shoots me an amused smirk as she washes her hands at the sink beside me. "You know, pointing out that Paul also is seeing fewer than normal girls probably isn't the best way to keep the secret," she points out laughing.

"Keep what secret?" I demand, trying to look keep my voice level. But I don't succeed. My heart is right back to hammering in my chest, and my voice is embarrassingly high-pitched as I try to remain calm.

Leah freezes, her face visibly draining as she realizes what she just blurted out. "Uh," she stammers out nervously.

"You know, don't you?" I exclaim in horror.

Guilt takes over her face.

"Oh my god." I want to scream. Or punch something. Or both. "How long have you known?" She just shrugs uncomfortably. "Does anyone else know?"

Somehow, her facial expression turns dramatically guiltier.

"You all know?" I accuse, grabbing paper towel from the dispenser violently. My hyperventilating is fully back.

"Cassie, don't be mad," Leah pleads. "He didn't mean for us to all find out."

I scoff. I had worked so hard to keep us a secret. I hadn't even told Ricki! Yet here Paul is letting his whole gang of friends in on _our_ secret. "Yet you _all_ did."

"I'm sorry," she exclaims, following me out of the bathroom.

After a moment of reflection, I tell her earnestly, "Don't be." I sigh. "It's not your fault."

"So," she hesitates, "you're not mad?"

"Oh I'm pissed," I clarify. And I am; if I was any angrier, I would be shaking. "Just not at you guys."

At Paul on the other hand? Well, I'm livid. He didn't just tell our secret. He broke a promise, and then he _lied_ about it. If they all knew, he should've came clean when I asked him about it Thursday night. The walk to the car is dead silent, and when we reach the car, I must not be doing a good job at hiding my anger. My mom thinks I'm mad about her teasing in the mall. I tell her it's already forgotten. And it is.

Because my anger at Paul right now is the only thing on my mind.

I pretend to fall asleep on the way home, even though it's not even supper time yet. However, when I open my eyes, I notice Paul's name on Leah's phone. She doesn't notice me – still thinking I'm actually asleep – and I'm able to read the text she sends him:

 _Cassie knows we know and she's pissed. So good luck with that._

Although I'm a little bothered that Leah is warning him, I'm pleased that she ended the text with unsympathetic, laughing emoticons. Regardless, Paul's going to need more than luck.

 **Wonder how Paul's going to get out of this one D: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**So I'm so sorry for taking over a month to update. This past month has been crazy with school and work and some other stuff. So again, I'm super sorry. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 13**

I remain pretending to sleep for the rest of the drive to Port Angeles, where we're dropping Margaret off at her house. Part of me wants to ask my mom to drop me off at Ricki's house. That way I can sleep over at her house, spend the entire night bitching about Paul, get some advice on how to approach the argument that is bound to ensue, and then get her to drive me home tomorrow.

However, telling her everything now would break Paul and I's deal, and I can't exactly yell at him for telling people if I also told people. Plus, knowing Ricki she wouldn't just drop me off; she would want to give Paul a piece of her mind.

So I don't ask.

When we've arrived in Port Angeles and dropped off Margaret, my mom turns around and asks, "Are you girls hungry? We can stop somewhere for supper before heading home."

The last thing I want to do is prolong yelling at Paul any further. I'm still furious, but I'm worried that the longer I wait, the more likely I'll end up losing my nerve and chicken out from confronting him about this.

"Um, I think Emily is cooking a big supper tonight," Leah replies when I don't. "But I don't mind stopping if you guys are hungry," she adds after her mother shoots her a look I don't really catch.

"I'm not hungry." It's a lie. I'm starving; we didn't just snack on movie theater popcorn. But like I said, I want to get home. And I can yell at Paul on an empty stomach. "Actually," I add, "I'm supposed to go with Leah to Emily's. Would it be okay if you dropped us off there?"

Leah looks like she's about to object, but I send her a silencing glare. Obviously, I hadn't been planning to go to Emily's – although if this hadn't happened I'm sure I would've ended up there anyway – but I know Paul will be there.

Mom looks surprised, but she's evidently pleased that I have plans with friends. "That's not a problem." As she heads back onto the highway, she continues talking to Sue.

"We should go grab supper at the diner in Forks after we drop off the girls," Sue suggests.

My mom nods enthusiastically in agreement. "That's a great idea. There's literally no food at our house. I don't know how it disappears so fast!"

Sue snorts, and out of the corner of my eye I notice Leah looks amused. "I feel you there. Food rarely lasts at my house either."

"Oh well," my mom sighs. "Peter and I will just have to go get groceries later tonight."

I begin to tune out their chatter, and focus on what the hell I'm going to say to Paul. I can't yell at him in front of all of our friends. I'd probably just end up embarrassing myself. I'm going to have to get him away from Emily's. Which won't be too hard – except that Leah warned him so he probably won't be too willing to leave the safe haven of Emily's cottage.

I pull out my phone, for the first time in a while. There's three text messages.

One is from Ricki, complaining that all the guys in Port Angeles are assholes – followed by an explanation of what happened to make her come to that conclusion. It's a long text message, and I just don't have the energy to answer her properly right now.

The other two are from Paul, which is odd because he's not much of a double texter. He always waits for a reply before he texts again – barring emergencies. One was from around noon. Probably when he woke up.

 _Good morning_ _beautiful, wanna start the new season of Once tonight when you get back from your trip?_

I check the time on the next message. It was definitely sent after Leah warned him.

 _Hope the shopping is going well! When will you be home?_

Sliding my phone back into my jacket pocket, I don't reply. Unless Leah texts him again, it's going to be a surprise.

…

There's enough cars in Emily's driveway to make turning around impossible when we finally arrive, so my mom drops us off at the end of it. I instantly notice Paul's truck is one of the vehicles. We thank my mom and say good-bye to her and Sue before heading up Emily's longish driveway.

We're not even halfway up the driveway when Leah pauses. I look at her in confusion.

"Look," she says quietly, as if trying not to be heard. Even though literally no one is outside. "I know you're angry at Paul – "

"And I have every right to be," I interrupt indignantly.

She rolls her eyes. "Cassie, I get that. But just, be careful okay? Paul's got quite the temper…."

I raise an eyebrow at her. Of course I know he has a temper. I live with him for god's sake. But what exactly is she implying? Does she actually think lowly enough of Paul that she thinks he's going to hit me or something if I yell at him? I open my mouth, about to defend him, before quickly shutting it. This is not the time to be defending him. "I think I can handle myself. Thanks though."

"Fine," she huffs, annoyed as she continues walking to the house. "But I warned you."

From the porch, I can overhear the laughter and chatter going on inside. However, the second Leah and I enter, all sound ceases and it's suddenly deathly quiet. Leah walks right in anyway, grabbing a plate of food and taking a seat at the kitchen table.

I linger around the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against the frame.

Paul smiles hopefully at me. "You coming in, Cass?"

My hands clench at my sides as I do my best not to glare at him. _Not here_ , I remind myself. Plastering a smile on my face, I say, " _Actually_ , your dad needs your help with something at home. Asked me to come get you."

The smile disappears off of Paul's face, but I don't miss the smirks that take over many of the other guys' faces around the table.

"Is that so?" he asks, legitimate fear in his voice as he stands up from the table.

"Yeah. It is." My voice is so cold I almost don't recognize it. As he follows me towards the door, I say good-bye to the others with entirely fake enthusiasm and cheerfulness.

As the front door shuts behind us, I feel Paul reach for my hand.

Snatching it away from him, I exclaim angrily, "What the actual fuck Paul!"

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

I narrow my eyes at him. _As if_ he didn't see that coming.

"C'mon, Cass, it's not like anyone can see us." He gestures around to the empty yard, darkening as we speak due to the sun setting.

My narrowed eyes turn into a glare. "Don't play dumb," I snap, stalking off the porch towards his truck. I don't get in when I reach it, instead leaning against the front bumper.

"Cassie, I… I'm sorry," he mumbles quietly.

"You're sorry?" I echo, my voice rising in pitch and volume. "You're sorry for what? For not keeping your mouth shut? For breaking our promise? For _lying_ to my face about it?"

"I didn't – " he begins before cutting himself off. He opens his mouth to continue, but then closes it shortly after.

I cross my arms over my chest – partially in an attempted threatening manner, but mostly because the temperature has dropped significantly and I'm freezing.

When Paul continues opening and closing his mouth like a useless fish without uttering a word, I say, "It's literally only been a week and you've already blown the secret!"

He groans, his eyes flickering nervously to Emily and Sam's house. "Cass, let's not do this here. You're freezing!" He reaches towards me; I jerk away from his reach with a glare. "Let's go home and talk about this."

"Oh yes Paul, that's a brilliant idea! Let's go home and argue about how you told people our secret IN FRONT OF THE TWO PEOPLE WHO CAN ABSOLUTELY NOT FIND OUT ABOUT IT!" I'm legitimately screaming at him at this point. And I'm sure everyone at Emily's overheard at least some of it, but I'm too angry to be embarrassed.

"Please, I can explain," he begs. "Just not here."

"Well sure as hell not at home," I reply coldly. To be honest, I'm not even sure if Peter is home, and my mom would probably still be at the diner with Sue at this point. But that's not the point. It would probably be worse if we were arguing over this and they walked in.

"Alright," he whispers, walking towards the door of his truck. "Come on."

"No," I retort bluntly, standing firm with my arms still across my chest.

Sighing, he sends me a blank stare. "No?"

"I'm not getting into your truck with you and going god knows where until you explain why you told everybody and then why you lied to me about it."

"You just agreed we weren't going to do this here," he states dubiously.

"Well then we'll just walk somewhere else," I say simply.

"Yeah that's a great idea," he says dryly. "Let's walk through the streets of La Push with you yelling at me. I'm sure people won't start gossiping about _that_."

"I'll take my chances."

"You're being unreasonable."

"Well, you're being a liar."

Paul's fists clench as he takes another annoyed glance towards the house. "Well, I'm not doing this here, so get in, and we'll find a more appropriate spot." He doesn't wait for me to respond; he just gets into the truck and turns the key.

Stubbornly – and partially because I still don't know what I'm going to say to him – I wait a couple minutes before the cold is finally too much and I jump into his truck.

"Where do you want to go?" he asks, cranking the heat even further when he notices me shivering.

"We could go to the beach by the house," I answer, fiddling with the sleeve of my jacket to avoid looking at him. That way we're still in walking distance to the house if need be.

"First Beach? That is literally the number one hang out of people around here," he retorts, looking unsure.

I roll my eyes. "I doubt it is in January."

Frowning, he nods in agreement and pulls out of the driveway.

We don't say a word until we're parked in the parking lot of First Beach, which is probably a good ten minutes later.

"Look, I can explain."

"You keep saying that, but I still haven't heard an explanation."

His face twitches in annoyance as his fingers tremble slightly. Leah's warning triggers in my head, but I shake it off. We're parked; it's not like he can veer the car off the road. After another eerie silence, he quickly mumbles, "I didn't tell everybody about this."

"So you told a few of them, probably knowing that the rest would find out?" I accuse, unimpressed. It's not like I expected him to drop to his knees begging for my forgiveness. Hell, I'm not really sure what I was expecting. But I did think I'd get more than one 'I'm sorry'.

"No," he responds, looking out the windshield. "I didn't really say anything to them."

"So they just figured it out on their own?" I demand, sarcasm dripping from my tone.

"Well no, but I didn't say anything to them about it. Which is what I promised you. And I didn't break that promise."

I glare at him. "What does that even mean? Did you write it down? Act it out in charades? How the hell could they know if you didn't say anything to them?"

He goes back to impersonating a fish, completely stunned.

I continue staring him down with an expression that clearly reads _give me an explanation_.

"Cassie I'm so sorry that you feel betrayed, and I'm sorry if them knowing makes you uncomfortable. Believe me, I tried my bes – " he pauses – "well, I tried to keep it from them. But if you could just wait a couple weeks. The tribe is having a bonfire, and I swear I can explain everything then in a way that makes way more sense than anything I could possibly say right now."

I'm livid. "Weeks? You're fucking nuts if you think I'm going to wait weeks – until after the wedding at that! – to get an explanation. And what the hell does the tribe have to do with this? Do you even have an explanation or are you just trying to buy time to come up with a better excuse?"

He bangs the steering wheel in frustration, causing me to jump back. Instantly, panic takes over his face. He takes a few deep breaths. "I have an explanation. But it's complicated, and you would understand so much better if you waited until after that bonfire. Can't you just trust me?"

"I did trust you, Paul. Until you lied."

Biting his lip, he closes his eyes.

"I want the truth."

After a few more moments of silence, he glances over, looking me directly in the eyes. "I didn't say anything to them; however, Quileutes are descendants from wolves. And because of that, some of us can shape shift into wolves and while we're in wolf form we can read each other's minds. And that's how they all found out." He says it in such a matter-of-fact tone, while making intense eye-contact. Like it was a normal, truthful thing to say. It almost makes me believe him.

But it's not normal or possible, yet he somehow seems to believe it.

"You're fucking insane," I exclaim in rage, reaching for the latch to open the door.

"Cassie," he whispers, looking hurt although not entirely surprised. "I'm sorry, but I am being completely serious. And honest."

"Leave me alone. You're crazy."

"Cassie, I'm not…." He murmurs, looking completely lost.

"You're absolutely psychotic if you think that's remotely possible!"

He reaches for my arm as I rush out of the cab, but when I shake him off he immediately lets go. I hear him calling after me, then I hear him get out of his truck as he continues yelling after me.

But I don't even register what he's saying; I'm just focusing on running home and getting away from the lunatic that Paul apparently is. How am I supposed to tell Ricki that I didn't even tell her that I was dating someone? How am I supposed to tell my mom that she's marrying a man with a crazy son? How am I supposed to tell _Peter_ that his son is crazy? How am I supposed to tell myself that the first person I let myself fall in love with is insane and clearly not the person I thought he was?

And suddenly, the tears are streaming down my face.

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think. I'll try to do a better job at updating this time….**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks to everyone who's reading! I'll apologize for all the cliff-hangers but I can't guarantee that they'll stop haha**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 14**

 ****Paul's POV****

I've never felt as distraught in my life as I do when Cassie runs away from me in the First Beach parking lot. I don't blame her. That had to be the worst wolf reveal in the history of the world. What the hell was I thinking?

Well, I know what I was thinking. She wanted an answer, so I had to give her one.

And of course, I fucked it up. Grabbing a rock off the ground, I throw it angrily towards the ocean. "Calm the fuck down, Paul," I tell myself, taking deep breaths. I know I only have a few minutes to calm myself down before I go talk to her. Especially if I want to catch her before she gets home. But most importantly, I need to make sure I'm level-headed before I see her again. The last thing I want is a repeat of the Emily incident.

Yeah, like I hadn't overheard Leah's warning out in Emily's yard.

When I finally feel in control, I run full speed towards the house. Not surprisingly, I catch her shortly before she hits our driveway. Even without enhanced wolf abilities, I probably would've been able to catch her.

"Cassie, at least let me explain better," I beg helplessly. The thought of losing her when she's barely been mine a week is unthinkable. Why the fuck couldn't have I just kept my thoughts to myself? Or better yet, why couldn't Leah have kept her mouth shut?

She pauses, looking at me in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? There's nothing to explain! You're crazy. You can't even admit you did something wrong! Instead you make up some _insane_ story."

"I'm not crazy, Cassie. I know this is abnormal, but it's true. I can explain it better. I can show you. Just please hear me out!"

Rolling her eyes, she tells me, a touch of concern in her voice, "I think you need help Paul." She's already storming towards the front door by the time I even comprehend what she just said.

My imprint thinks I'm a psychopath. Oh god. What if she says something to our parents? Hastily, I hurry in after her.

"Hey!" I hear Marie exclaim as I enter the house shortly behind Cassie. "I just got home. Peter and I are going to get some groceries. Do you want – " She trails off as Cassie doesn't even look at them.

"What's wrong?" My dad asks in concern as she storms right passed him and Marie.

"Your son is fucking crazy, Peter," she exclaims, stomping up the stairs toward her room.

Marie looks at me in confusion, while my dad looks at me in suspicion. Oh god, he cannot find out that I told her. Then he'd definitely realize I imprinted on her.

I roll my eyes dramatically. "She really didn't like my idea for your guys' wedding gift."

Marie purses her lips. "Are you sure that's it?"

I nod, shrugging. "Maybe I said something a little mean afterward, but I swear she started it."

Leah was right: I am a good liar. Or Marie is just really naive because she laughs, believing me. "Okay, well you guys make up then. We can't have you bickering at the wedding. Also, you two don't have to get us a gift!"

My dad wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her towards the door. They're definitely running late because normally he would've pushed harder than that. "Now, now, don't listen to her," he teases, but I can tell unlike Marie he doesn't fully believe me.

Luckily, he doesn't press for more information like usual, and they leave. With a groan I follow Cassie upstairs. After all, how much worse can it get than this?

I find her sitting on her bed, knees huddled up against her chest and eyes red. "Get out of my room," she whispers dejectedly.

Sighing, I stay in the doorway. "Look I know you're mad."

"I _was_ mad," she states simply. "I was really, really mad. But I'm not anymore." I raise my eyebrows in confusion, but she continues before I can reply. "I'm confused. And a little upset. And very, _very_ shocked. But I'm mostly, just, mostly just … kind of heartbroken that the guy I've fallen in love with is either a lunatic or a chronic liar."

Despite the rest of her words, my heart is hammering in excitement and disbelief. _The guy I've fallen in love with._

"Paul," she whispers frantically, evidently regretting her words, "don't. Don't look like that."

"Like what?" I blurt out. After the hours and hours of spending time together, you'd think I'd be more prepared for this moment. Then again, I was expecting much happier circumstances when it finally did occur.

She shakes her head sadly, then gives a little shrug. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're insane or a liar. Neither of which I want to deal with."

My chest pangs as the wave of rejection crashes through me. "I've never given you a reason not to trust me, Cassandra. I know this sounds insane, but please just hear me out."

Her jaw clenched as I use her full name – something I haven't called her since our fight in her dad's condo. "You told me you could turn into a wolf. You realize that's impossible, right?"

Shrugging, I lean against the door frame. "I used to think the same thing. Then one day, after feeling off for a few days, I got angry and … burst into a giant wolf."

She shakes her head in annoyance. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Not really," I admit. "I was hoping." We stare at each other in painful silence for what seems like forever. I'm waiting for her to give me the go ahead to try and explain or tell me to get out or something. Anything would be better than this quiet.

Finally, she speaks, "Did our parents leave yet?"

Her casual tone takes me by surprise. "Um, yeah."

"Damn. I wanted to tell them to get some popcorn."

"Why… what… how are you..?" I can't even coherently get out what I'd like to say. I just stand their gaping in bewilderment. "Why are you being so nonchalant right now? Like what the actual fuck?"

Shooting me a cold glare, she smirks icily. "You taught me well, I guess."

I want to glare back, but I know she's right. I can normally put on an Oscar-level performance of pretending like everything is fine and things aren't awkward or tense between us. But right now? When legitimately everything important to me is falling apart? Of course I'm losing my shit. "Well, excuse me for caring that we're about to crash and burn."

"I care," she snaps indignantly. "But there's nothing I can do about it. You're the one who lied. Or lost your mind. Or whatever. I'm just trying not to get any more hurt at this point."

"By shutting me out?" I snap back accusingly. Instantly I know yelling back at her or getting defensive isn't going to get me anywhere. "I am begging you, Cassie, please, just let me tell you the entire story. After that, I'll answer any questions or accusations you have. But I swear to god I am telling the fucking truth, and the last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you."

Her face turns to stone, a sure sign she's attempting to shut down emotionally. "You have thirty minutes until they're back from getting groceries. So whatever you have to say, it better be fucking fantastic."

I gulp. All the legends needed to make her fully understand could take hours – not that I actually listen to Billy enough to remember them all. But still. Plus, on top of this I would have to explain how the pack began, who's all in it, and what exactly we do. Rubbing my face in desperation, I try to remember how Sam told Emily and how Jared told Kim. I'm drawing blanks, and all I remember is the girls' heinous reactions.

"Twenty-nine minutes, Paul."

There's no way. There's no way in fucking hell that I'll be able to explain all that _and_ answer all the questions she's going to have. Eyeing up her room, I realize there's not enough spare space in here for me to safely phase. My room doesn't either. I know the living room probably does; however, the windows make it easy for any neighbours to see if they're looking. And while the backyard is private enough, I doubt I can get her to go outside with me. And she still looks cold.

Suddenly it hits me.

"Come down to the basement with me," I plead, stepping out of the doorway and towards the stairwell.

"Are you trying to make this feel even more like a horror movie?" she asks incredulously.

My face turns to stone. Less than twenty-four hours she would've followed me to Timbuctoo if I asked her to. Then again, that was also one lie, one fight, and one huge ass secret revelation ago. "Cassie, I don't know what exactly you think I'm going to do to you, but I swear to god I would never hurt you. Please, just come downstairs. I'll prove to you I'm not lying, and that I'm not crazy."

Hesitantly, she gets out of her bed and follows me. "Only because I know whatever you want to show me won't be able to prove that."

Snorting, I roll my eyes. She says that now. Walking down into the basement, I'm grateful that the only part of the floor that's finished is my dad and Marie's bedroom. The rest of the floor – except for the laundry room – is wide open. Definitely big enough to phase safely in.

"Here, stand in the doorway so you're able to run away screaming," I say sarcastically. To my pleasure, she laughs.

Even though she quickly tries to hide it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she shoots me her best 'I'm waiting' look.

"You should close your eyes or turn around," I cough awkwardly.

Raising an eyebrow, she accuses, "Why? You gonna pull a dead wolf out of the laundry room closet and try to trick me?"

Shaking my head in disbelief, I snap, "I have to take my clothes off to phase. And you haven't exactly seen me naked before."

"Whose fault is that?" she shoots back starkly.

I wince before mumbling out earnestly, "I didn't want us to sleep together until you knew about this."

Her mouth forms a small 'o' shape, and she looks somewhat relieved. Why did she think we hadn't slept together yet? I mean we'd only really been dating a week, but neither one of us were the waiting type. Before I can ask what she was thinking, she recovers. "Knew about what? You being a psychopath?"

Biting my lip, I hold back any nasty remarks I want to throw at her. I have to give her the benefit of the doubt. She has every right to think I'm crazy. This is crazy. If I was in her shoes, I would probably think the same thing. "Close your eyes."

She listens.

Hastily, I pull off my shirt and unbuckle my belt. I smirk as I notice her eyes peek open. "We've only got twenty-five minutes, Cass. Keep your eyes shut." She doesn't respond, but her eyes noticeably close tighter as her face flushes red.

Once my clothes are off, I retreat backwards towards the wall, as far away from her as possible. Just to be safe. Then I phase. Her eyes are still closed, and I quickly realize I can't speak to tell her to open them. Slowly, I walk towards her in my dark silver, canine form.

 _You're phased?_ Leah's thoughts scream in my head. _Is Cassie okay? Oh my god!_

 _She's fine_ , I snap back. _She didn't believe me, so I'm showing her. Thanks for blowing my fucking cover by the way._

Leah remains quiet after that, and I don't hear any other voices in my head. Good, I can at least focus on this without any more interruptions.

Cassie's eyes are still closed when I reach her. Gently, I nudge her thigh with my muzzle.

An ear-piercing, blood curdling scream escapes her lips as soon as she sees me. I wince from the noise, but instantly back up a few steps. The last thing I want is to scare her further.

Cassie takes a few deep breaths, her hand resting over her heart and her eyes still bulging out of her head. Finally, she whispers, "You weren't lying?"

I shake my wolf head.

Tears form in her eyes, and ever so slowly, a smile spreads across her face. "So you're not crazy?"

 _Only for you_ , I think cornily, padding back over to wear I dropped my jeans. Leah scoffs in my head, but I don't care. This is a good sign.

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi guys! I'm sorry for the long-ish wait again. My excuses are the same as last time, but I swear they're real! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, etc!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 15**

I cover my mouth with my hands to hide the smile that has already blossomed across my face. I don't know why I'm smiling. After all, my boyfriend just showed me that he can turn into a huge ass wolf. I should be running for the hills. Instead, I'm confused, but mostly just relieved.

Paul's not crazy, and if he wasn't lying about whatever the hell this wolf thing is, maybe he's not lying about it not being his fault that his friends found out about us.

Wolf Paul heads back over to his pile of clothes. He lifts his large paw up towards his face, a failed attempt at telling me to close my eyes I assume.

Smirking, I ask half-jokingly, "Don't you at least owe me this after tonight?"

Rolling his eyes, he redoes his paw covering eye motion.

I take a few steps up the basement stairs before taking a seat and squeezing my eyes half shut. He doesn't tell me to shut them all the way this time – although I guess he probably can't. The transformation from wolf to human is the most surreal, and possibly the most disturbing, thing I've seen in my life.

However, Paul's fully naked body on display afterwards definitely makes up for it. And definitely reminds me that I should be going to the gym more. Or at least the treadmill that's over in the corner of this room, since La Push doesn't really have a gym.

Paul pulls on his boxers and pants, before grabbing his shirt and approaching me cautiously. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I wanted to wait for you to hear all the legends and stuff. It's a lot easier to comprehend."

"I, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. You were right: you've never given me a reason not to trust you. I should've believed you."

Smiling coyly, he leans against the basement entrance's door frame and shrugs. "I know it's pretty unbelievable."

"You can say that again," I snort, feeling slightly still in shock. "But I'm sorry I called you a liar."

Paul smirks. "And?" he baits, giving me a knowing look.

"And for calling you crazy." He shoots me another look. "And insane." Another. "And a lunatic." And another. "Okay, okay, and psychotic. I'm sorry, but this is so much to take in!"

He takes a seat on the bottom step. "I know. And there's still so much you don't know. So please ask me whatever you need to so you feel somewhat more comfortable with all this shit."

I nod slowly. My brain is a scrambled mess a questions; it takes me a few seconds to determine which ones I actually need to get clarified before our parents come home. "So… you can turn into a wolf."

He furrows his eyebrows, nodding in confusion.

"But _why_ can you turn into a wolf?"

"Basically, some of us have this gene, and it makes us turn into wolves to protect the tribe."

I can't help but snort. "Protect the tribe? From what? Partying teenagers? Bears?"

Paul's eyes flicker around the room nervously, causing my laughter to cease. "I don't want to scare you."

I roll my eyes. "I think we're past that. Continue."

"We phase to protect the tribe from … vampires."

"Vampires?" I repeat, my voice rising in panic. "You're joking."

"I really wish I was. But you don't have to worry," he assures me, "I would never let one hurt you." He must notice me turning even paler. "Are you okay?"

"Well, I now have to worry about being eaten by a vampire." I look at him in alarm. "That's all I have to worry about right? Like you or whoever else isn't going to eat me if you get hungry, right? Wait, who else can turn into a wolf?"

Paul reaches up and gently strokes my cheek. "No, you silly girl, you don't even have to worry about vampires at all. I would never let them near you. And Sam, Jared, Embry, Jake, Quil, Seth, Brady, Collin, and Leah won't eat you." He shoots me a wink, his signature smirk plastered on his face. "And I, well I won't eat you in that way at least."

Giggling, I shove him gently. "Leah? Is she the only girl who can turn into a wolf?"

Paul scoffs. "My dad and your mom could be back any minute; we don't have time to open that can of worms. But yes."

"So what about Kim and Emily? If they don't, do they know about this?"

He nods, tensing instantly. "They do," he replies slowly.

"Why?" I ask, curiously. "And why do I get to know?"

He runs his hand through his hair, dread and anxiety radiating off of him. "Uh, there's one more thing I have to tell you."

I feel slightly alarmed, before quietly asking, "Is it worse than the wolf or vampire thing?"

He smiles lovingly at me, stroking my cheek. "Not worse. But weirder. Definitely weirder." Taking a deep breath, he begins to tell me about all the special abilities they have. Heightened speed, superior scent, enhanced hearing, telepathy when in wolf form (hence how his friends found out about us), and finally: "We're able to know who our soulmates are as soon as we look them in the eyes." His smile turns nervous as he babbles on about no longer needing gravity and only wanting what's best for your "imprint" as he calls it. "So, Emily knows because she's Sam's imprint, Kim knows because she's Jared's imprint, and you now know because… you're mine."

My lips twitch to fight back a smile, my heart fluttering like a butterfly in my chest. "Are, you um, sure about that?"

He blinks in surprise, looking alarmed. "What?"

"Are you sure I'm your _imprint_?"

"Believe me, I would know." He laughs hesitantly. "I mean, I understand if it sounds crazy or creepy. If you're totally freaked out, like we can stop this. I-I would understand. But I swear it's not like you have to like me just because –"

"Paul," I interrupt, tortured by the pain in his eyes.

He doesn't stop. "When you hear the legends at the bonfire, I swear it will make more sense. I'm just terrible at explaining –"

"Paul," I exclaim louder this time, hoping he'll stop rambling and look at me. "Stop! All of this is crazy, yes. But I like this part a hell of a lot more than you turning into a wolf." I shoot his a grin to clarify that I'm teasing. "It's just seems odd to me, because the first time we met, I thought you hated me. It definitely didn't feel like you thought I was the thing holding you to the Earth."

"I had just found out my soulmate was my future step-sister. I think it's fair that my reaction wasn't exactly ecstatic." He smirks up at me. "Besides, I _know_ you also had your freak out moments when you realized you were falling for me."

I blush, his comments about enhanced hearing lingering in my head. Oh god. "All those phone calls to Ricki?"

"I heard a few," he admits sheepishly. "But I swear, I tried not to eavesdrop."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did," I retort sarcastically. I can't help but laugh, though. All those times he'd smirk or laugh or snort after Ricki had something funny or embarrassing on the phone; it all makes sense now. "You know," I say thoughtfully, "if Ricki ever hears about this she's never going to stop telling me I told you so."

"Well, I mean, she can't know any of it. But why do you say that?" Paul asks curiously.

"Remember the other weekend when I called you asking if you wanted to see a movie with us?"

"Of course, it was like our first chaperoned date," he jokes.

I roll my eyes. "Ha ha, you're so funny. Anyway, I had it on speaker, because Ricki is nosy." Luckily Paul snorts and doesn't seem to feel like his privacy had been invaded. Although, since his friends can apparently hear most of the thoughts he has about me, I think it's a pretty fair playing ground. "And afterwards, she kept going off about how you and I are absolutely perfect together." I snort. "Even though she barely knew you."

"I guess she has good instincts." Paul shuffles up a few steps so that we're sitting side by side and pecks my cheek. "You know, you're taking this whole imprinting thing much better than Kim and Emily did."

I raise my eyebrows in interest. "Really? How did they take it?"

He laughs. "And you said Ricki was nosy."

I glare at him, before pouting and pleading for him to tell me. He caves and tells me all about the screaming matches that occurred when Sam and Jared both came clean about the wolf thing and imprinting. "Kim even threw a hairdryer at Jared."

"No way!" I gape. "You're joking!"

Chuckling, Paul shakes his head. "The girl was _pissed_."

"Kim?" I ask dubiously. "She can barely get a sentence out half the time. I cannot even picture that. I just can't even."

Rolling his eyes, Paul replies, "Well, you can badger Jared about it next time you see him if you don't believe me, but I swear it happened." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he checks the time wearily. "They're going to be home any minute, so there's one more thing."

I groan. "You've got to be kidding me."

Paul pulls me onto his lap, kissing my lips gently. "I shouldn't say one more thing. It's just you can't talk to anyone about this, besides the pack obviously. But especially not my dad."

I nod slowly, smirking at how his group of friends – our group of friends I should say – refer to themselves as a pack. "Nobody would believe me anyway, silly."

"My dad will because he knows."

My jaw drops as I look at Paul in confusion. Resting my head on his shoulder, I ask, "Then why can't he know I know if he already knows?"

"If he finds out I imprinted on you before the wedding, I know he'd call it off. He would be all 'I can't take your soulmate away from you' and blah blah blah. Besides we've already been over how it will be better for them to find out afterwards since divorces are harder than calling off engagements."

I gulp. He's right; we've already discussed how important it is for us to ensure our relationship doesn't interfere with our parents'. "So, we're just gonna stick with the telling them after we graduate thing," I state.

A smile blossoms across Paul's face. "Well, I mean as long as you don't decide to go running for the hills after all I've told you in the past twenty minutes."

"I think you're safe," I tell him earnestly. I'm not sure all of this has really sunk in – any of it really. But out of the very few concerns I've had with Paul, this crazy information seems to almost explain them. Reaching up, I gently pull his face closer to mine and capture his lips in a tender kiss. We kiss for a few moments, and everything just feels so normal, as if the craziness of the last few hours never even happened.

"By the way," he whispers when we finally break apart, "I love you too."

Grinning ecstatically, I reply with an exponentially more passionate kiss. Turning around to straddle his lap, things continue to heat up. I'm about to suggest we go upstairs when suddenly Paul stiffens. Pulling away, he stands up and places me on my feet a few steps below him.

"They just pulled in the driveway. We should definitely not be down here when they come in."

Nodding in agreement, I smooth my hair and straighten out my shirt. I follow him up to the kitchen. He quickly throws a frozen pizza in the oven to make everything appear normal. "So what's the story?" I ask. "About what they saw earlier."

Paul chuckles, taking a seat at the chair adjacent to me. "You mean you don't want to go with 'Peter I still think you should send your son to an asylum'?"

I glare at him.

"Okay, okay. They basically think that you didn't like a wedding gift idea that I suggested, so I said something rude, and we ended up fighting."

"Wait, what did you suggest?"

"I don't know. I didn't specify. Why does it matter?" he asks incredulously, eyeing the door nervously.

"Because we need to get our story straight before they come in!" I exclaim, beginning to panic.

"Babe, calm down." He pauses for a second, before offering, "I suggested we get them a cow."

"Why the hell would we get them a cow!?"

"Exactly!" He grins. "You don't like it. So then, you got angry. I got angry. We fought. Then, we work things out like good step-siblings and decide that we're going to go Port Angeles on Wednesday after school to pick something out. Solid alibi."

I blink in surprise. "That's actually a good plan. And I really do have to get them something…."

He groans dramatically. "See I was actually thinking we could go on a real date and use that as an excuse." He winks playfully at me. "Since I already got them something like a good son."

I smirk at him. "Well, I'm a shitty daughter and haven't, so our first _un_ chaperoned date is going to be partially made up of us finding a wedding gift."

Chuckling, Paul nods. "I suppose I can deal with that."

We hear the front door open and convert into step-sibling mode when we hear Peter call out, "You kids haven't killed each other yet have you?"

Laughing good naturedly, I get up to check on the pizza as Paul gets up to help them with the groceries. It's only been a few minutes and the pizza has barely cooked, but Mom and Peter don't need to know that. "No, don't worry, Peter. Luckily, I've convinced your son that he is crazy for thinking a _cow_ would be a good wedding gift. We're going to find much more suitable gifts some night this week."

They both laugh, and I know we've dodged a major bullet: neither my mom nor Peter are suspicious about my outburst from earlier this evening.

Now just to keep any suspicions at bay for another year and a half….

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello! Thanks to all who read and reviewed :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 16**

On Monday after school, Kim invites me over to Emily's to hang out with the two of them while the boys have their pack meeting. Initially, my reaction is to comment that just because my boyfriend's busy doesn't automatically mean I don't have other plans. But the truth is that it kind of does. I mean, I haven't really made any friends outside of the pack – which isn't really that odd considering there aren't _that many_ other teenagers in La Push – and Leah is the only one who I really hang out with without Paul around.

And I can actually say that now because on Sunday we went to the diner in Forks to get milkshakes. Her treat, as an apology for spilling Paul's secret. She had insisted; although to be completely honest, I'm glad she did. At least everything is out in the open between Paul and myself now.

 _Anyway_ , my point is despite my initial hesitation, I quickly realized that I should start putting more of an effort in to getting to know Kim and Emily – sans Paul – since I now know we have the whole "being an imprint" thing in common. Plus I really like Emily, and Paul has assured me that Kim will be slightly less awkward and quiet once she gets to know me better.

After the final bell rings and we're released from our Quileute studies class, Paul and Jared have to rush to their lockers before going to meet the pack at their cliff-top meeting spot by First Beach. Kim had told me she would meet me outside the classroom, so I linger in the hallway, waiting for her to show up.

A few moments later, she arrives; we greet each other with smiles and then walk – unsurprisingly – in silence towards the school's exit.

I notice Paul at his locker, being cornered by Olivia. We make eye contact, and the look in his eyes screams "help me". Kim's looking at me wearily. She's clearly not a fan of Olivia either.

I shrug. "Come on," I say, walking up to Paul and Olivia. Doing my best to pretend that I don't realize they're in the middle of a – forced – conversation, I interrupt, "Hey Paul, I meant to ask, did you get my note this morning?"

Paul looks confused, slowly shaking his head.

Olivia just glares at me.

I smile at them both. There are some advantages to the whole reservation thinking that Paul is just my step-brother. "Oh, well, that Erin girl from Forks called. She said she enjoyed your guys' date and would love if you could give her a call back. She said you have her number."

It takes him a second, but I can see the lightbulb turn on in his head. He smirks. "Oh shit, thanks, Cass. I meant to give her a call back."

Olivia is indignant, though. "I didn't realize you were dating somebody, Paul."

"Well, I figured you would get that's what I meant when I said I wasn't interested anymore," Paul retorts in annoyance. I resist the urge to squeal in delight at his words. I've never been the jealous type, but there's something about Olivia that makes me want to throttle her.

Bashfully, I say to Olivia in mock apology, "I'm so sorry, Olivia; I had _no idea_ there was ever anything between you and Paul. Otherwise I would've waited until you weren't around."

"Whatever," Olivia snaps, glaring at all of us – even Kim. She storms off, muttering under her breath, "Not even worth it."

Paul groans in relief. "Oh my god, Cassie, I owe you my life right now." The look in his eyes tells me he wants to kiss me, but thankfully his brain is still working and he realizes we're in the middle of a school hallway.

Laughing, I shove him playfully. "You're going to be late for your meeting if you don't get going, _bro_." I smirk at him. "Don't forget to give Erin a call back."

Paul winks at me. "Oh, I won't." Shutting his locker, he hurries off to the meeting.

I roll my eyes at him, trying to supress my blush. Kim and I begin our walk towards Sam and Emily's cottage.

"You know," Kim confesses to me, breaking the silence that had developed between us. "I don't know how you were so nonchalant about that. If Olivia had been hitting on Jared, I would've been so jealous. I probably would've cried."

Shrugging, I notice a few other students nearby also walking home. "Why would I be jealous of Olivia and my step-brother? Erin, on the other hand, she's probably a little bit jealous."

Kim blushes, and when we're away from the school and the other students, she exclaims, "I am so sorry I said that. I wasn't even thinking that there were other people around. Oh my god, you must hate me."

That's probably the most I've ever heard Kim talk, and it makes me feel terrible. "Oh god, Kim, no. Of course not! It was just an innocent comment. I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"Are you sure?" she whispers incredulously.

Nodding, I assure her, "It's really no big deal. It's a fucked up situation. Hard to keep everything straight." She still looks hesitant, so I send her a smile. We drift back into silence for the remainder of the walk, but it's much more comfortable than before.

"Hey girls," Emily greets us enthusiastically, when we arrive. She has cookies baked for us. Chocolate chip ones. We decide to watch a movie, and since it's my first time, I get to pick. This is foreign to me considering Ricki always gets to pick.

Emily has a fair amount of DVD's – although most of them are for kids. She explains that she has a three year old niece. I end up choosing an old one: The Princess Diaries.

We start the movie and begin chatting. "You know, I can't believe you threw a hairdryer at Jared!" I tease Kim. She blushes madly, making me laugh. During English class, I had demanded Jared to tell me whether or not it was true.

"I still can't believe that _I_ did it." She laughs in embarrassment.

"Well, I think it's hilarious!"

"I still can't believe how well you took it," Emily tells me, impressed.

I roll my eyes. "I literally called him psycho and stormed off. I wouldn't say that's taking it well!"

Giggling, Emily exclaims, "That was about the wolf thing. Not the imprint thing!"

Kim nods, and I gasp. "How do you both know about everything? You can't read his mind!"

"Well, no," Kim admits. "But Jared and Sam can, and they'll tell us anything we ask them."

"They will?" I ask, curious. They smile knowingly at each other, like I'm missing something. "What? How do you make them tell you anything you want?"

"The Imprint Card," Kim informs me simply.

"The Imprint… what?" I exclaim in confusion, no longer paying attention to the movie.

They both burst out laughing. "That's what the boys begrudgingly call it," Emily explains. "Basically, they just can't tell us no. They try. But if you persist, they'll eventually tell you whatever you want to know or do whatever you're asking them too."

"That's… useful. But poor them."

"Not that we use it that often!" Kim interjects. "I swear, we try not to take advantage of it."

Emily smirks. "But sometimes it comes in handy."

We burst out laughing. I bet it does. Sam comes home around when the movie is ending, but the rest of the pack doesn't come over. Apparently Jared and Paul are the ones on patrol this evening, so Kim and I stay and eventually end up watching the sequel before calling it a night.

Kim suggests we do it again sometime soon, and I agree enthusiastically; I actually had a lot of fun. I also suggest we do it some time when the pack isn't having a meeting so Leah can join. Kim agrees hesitantly, but Emily seems to really like the idea, looking wistful.

I really need to ask Paul what the story is there, because there's some obvious tension.

I eat leftovers from what Peter and my mom had for supper when I get home, before heading upstairs to my room. Grabbing my laptop, I snuggle up in my bed and watch some Netflix. Might as well make it an Anne Hathaway marathon kind of night. Because obviously my Trig homework isn't important.

I must drift off to sleep somewhere in the middle of Ella Enchanted, because it's about a half hour later into the movie than I remember when my ringing phone wakes me up.

It's Paul, and it's nearly midnight.

Shutting my laptop and setting it on my bedside table, I answer my phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, is Erin there?"

I can't help but giggle. "Babe, it's late. What do you want?"

"Our parents are fast asleep," he informs me. I can practically hear the smirk on his face. "Come cuddle."

Rolling my eyes, I'm already out of my bed. I make sure to shut my door as I leave and shut his as I enter. Sliding into his bed next to him, I ask dryly, "You just want to cuddle?"

"Imagine," Paul chuckles, capturing my lips in a heated kiss.

…

I let out a groan for about the tenth time since we got onto the highway fifteen minutes ago, seconds away from throwing my phone out the window of Paul's moving truck. It's Wednesday and Paul and I are heading to Port Angeles straight from school. I've been googling all of the stores in Port Angeles on my phone that could possibly have a good wedding gift for Mom and Peter.

So far, I've found nothing. "I don't even know where we should go to look!" I complain in defeat. I'm already in an anxious mood for this trip because I decided not to mention it to Ricki. It's not even that she would expect me to hang out with her if I said I'd be in town; it's just that if she knows then she's going to ask about what we did. It's bad enough keeping Paul and I a secret from her. I don't want to start lying to her about it too. Not that omitting the truth is much better, and it's making me feel super guilty. "What did you get them again?"

Paul grins over at me. "I told you: I'm getting them a cow."

I roll my eyes. "Paul, seriously."

Laughing, he replies, "They've been talking about how they want to finish the basement and have a bar down there. So I went looking for one and found an l-shaped one for a sweet price. It's hiding in my closet, but there's a picture on my phone if you want to see it." He nods towards his phone sitting in the cup holder.

He's one of those few people who don't have a password on their phone. Not that mine of 1-2-3-4 is really that hard to crack…. I search for the picture in his gallery, ignoring the embarrassingly horrible pictures he's taken of me. "Oh my god!" Suddenly, I have an idea. "I could get bar stools to go with it!"

Paul chuckles, shooting me a look of mock pity. "I know you were more concerned with watching me turn into a wolf last time you were down there, but there are literally bar stools in our basement already."

"Fuck!" I curse, throwing my phone into my lap.

He reaches across the cab of his truck, intertwining our fingers. "You could always get them alcohol to fill it," he teases.

I squeeze his hand in excitement. "That's a great idea!"

"Cass, babe," – he glances wearily at me – "I was kidding. We're not even seventeen; we can't just go buy a shit ton of alcohol."

I frown. "Yeah," I admit, "but I may be able to get my dad to buy it for me."

Paul looks at me dubiously. "How?"

I shrug. "As long as he believes me when I say it's a present it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, he's a lot more liberal than my mom, and he uses stuff like this to compensate for never being around."

Paul frowns, rubbing my back sympathetically.

I roll my eyes. "No, it's fine. Works out well for me most of the time." Gently, I turn his face away from me. "Now watch the road!" Pulling out my phone, I select my dad's number. He'll still be working since it's only a bit past four, so maybe he'll be more willing to cooperate since he wants to get back to work. "Hey, Dad. Are you busy?"

"Hi Andy." He hesitates. "No more so than usual. What's up?"

"I have a small favour to ask," I say tentatively. Besides a few texts, I haven't actually talked to my dad since I called him the weekend before last. I feel slightly guilty for only calling him because I need something.

Unsurprisingly, I can hear papers shuffling through the phone. "Sure, sweetheart, what do you need?"

"So Paul –" I begin.

"Who?" my dad interrupts in confusion.

I groan, trying to avoid using the word _step-brother_. "You know, Peter's son." When he doesn't really reply, I exclaim in exasperation, "Peter, as in Mom's fiancé!"

Paul is smirking; I swat at him playfully.

"Of course. I know who Peter is."

Rolling my eyes, I bite back a snide remark. _Sure you do, Dad._ "Anyway, Paul got Mom and Peter a bar for their wedding gift, and I was thinking about getting them stuff to go in it. Like you know, just the typical stuff a bar should have. But obviously I can't go buy most of the stuff, so I was hoping…."

I hear him snort through the other end of the phone. "You want me to buy you alcohol?"

"Well, that and other bar stuff. Plus I'll give you the money obviously."

"Cassie, just because I'm not around much doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"Dad, I swear, that's all I want it for."

"Andy, come on. Your mom already hates me. We don't need to push the envelope."

"Dad," I whine. "Seriously, I'm not trying to trick you."

He doesn't budge.

I sigh. Time to take desperate measures now. "Look, I'm nearly seventeen. Do you honestly think I've never been drunk before? If I wanted this for my own personally use, believe me, I could get it without asking my father."

Paul bursts out laughing at my words after a short struggle to supress it.

Dad remains quiet, clearly pondering my words.

"Please?" I beg, wishing that stupid imprint card could be used on my dad.

He sighs, mumbling under his breath how he's going to regret this. "How much do you need and what kind?"

I do a celebratory fist pump, grinning at Paul widely. "Um, one second." Covering the speaker of the phone, I ask him, "How much did you spend on the bar?"

He raises his eyebrows in amusement. "Why?"

"Because I have to spend as much as you do so I can be an equally awesome child!"

Paul snorts. "You're ridiculous." But, he tells me and I repeat the amount to my dad. "And my dad likes Crown I think," he continues with a smirk, answering my dad's second question that I had forgotten about. Wolf hearing comes in handy sometimes.

"And Crown Royal and like any kind of decent flavoured vodkas." My mom has the alcohol tastes of a teenage girl, which has always come in handy for me. "But can you get like mixers or liqueurs or whatever else goes into a bar besides hard liquor. I don't know what that would be."

My dad laughs. "Let's keep it that way," he jokes in evident relief. Which shocks me because he's the one that Ricki and I usually called to pick us up when we got too wasted at a party to go home without getting caught. Again, he's way more liberal than my mother. "I'll take care of it on my way home from the office. Are you going to be able to pick it up? If not, I might be able to find some time before the wedding to come drop it off, but I'm not completely sure…."

"No, that's totally fine. I'm actually almost to Port Angeles now. Paul and I have some… um, errands to run, but we could pick it up before we head back home?"

"Sure, that should work. As long as it's after eight."

"Oh it will be after eight," Paul jokes too quietly for my dad to hear, waggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.

I stifle a giggle before replying to my dad. "Yeah, that works. Thanks so much Dad!"

"You're welcome, Andy," he says hesitantly. I hear voices coming from his end of the phone. "Look, I have to get back to work, but I swear to god if I find out this isn't for their gift…."

I laugh. "Dad, I promise!"

"Okay, okay. I'll see you tonight, Andy."

I hang up in relief. We're pretty close to the Port Angeles exit now. I lean over and peck Paul's cheek. "Guess we'll have more time for our first 'unchaperoned' date," I jest lovingly.

Paul smiles at the idea, but quickly it turns into a grimace. "Yeah, but now I have to meet your dad."

Chuckling, I pat his knee. "Don't be silly. He thinks you're just my soon-to-be step-brother. He's not going to interrogate you!"

"You sure?" he asks hesitantly. He look so nervous; it's adorable.

"Yes!" I exclaim dramatically. "Now where do you want to eat? I'm starving!"

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! I have exams over the next week or so, so I'm not 100% sure how long it will be until the next chapter, but it shouldn't be too long!**


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